A. Drying times for carpets and soft furnishings can vary greatly due to the following conditions:

• Relative humidity within the environment.
• Adequate ventilation introduced to the environment.
• The degree of soil contained within the carpet or fabric.
• The level of competence of the cleaning technician.
• The moisture retention rates of the respective fibres
  (Wool, Nylon, Cotton, Polyester, Polypropylene, etc.)

Regardless of all the above, the drying of soft furnishings should be achieved within twenty-four hours. In the most favourable conditions this drying time can be considerably less.

A. Every cleaning system uses some form of chemical to clean soft furnishings, water is a chemical and forms the basis of most cleaning solutions. A good experienced cleaning technician will be using safe chemicals and will rinse the items to make sure that no chemical residues remain within the fibres.

Q. Someone in the house suffers from an allergy will the cleaning chemicals be a problem?

A. Carpet cleaning methods rely mainly on water based chemicals and the cleaning technician should be made aware of the allergy. Steps can be taken to ensure that the risk of the allergy sufferer coming into contact with a cleaning chemical is eliminated. The allergy sufferer should not enter the room that has had items cleaned within it for a twenty-four hour period.

Q. Does the room have to be clear?

A. No, but it does help if any breakable items (i.e. China, glassware etc.) are removed from the room, including those inside cabinets that will have to be moved. It would also help the technician if small items of furniture are also removed, such as waste paper bins, paper racks etc. The technician will then move the items, clean and put the back in position placing protector pads/fibre blocks beneath the item to prevent staining from loose wood dye or rust from metal studs under the legs transferring onto the carpet.

Q. Will all the stains come out?

A. Most marks will come out during the cleaning process. Some of the more difficult dye stains may need some specialist treatment to deal with them. Any success at removing these types of stains is often diminished by home remedies that have already been tried before the technician is called out to deal with them. The technician will know the fibre content of the carpet/fabric and if the stain can be identified an outcome may be predicted.

Q. What system do you use to clean carpets?

A. An appropriate system to clean your carpet to achieve an excellent result, safely. Some carpets need to be cleaned using low moisture systems whilst others benefit from a deeper clean.

Q. Do you use steam?

A. The systems that are more popularly used professionally do not use steam in the true sense of the word. The small moisture particles that are sprayed onto the carpet are very fine and give the appearance of steam. There are some units on the market that do produce steam and some models are sold through High Street stores for ceramic tile cleaning etc. They also say that they can be used for carpets and soft furnishings but unless you know exactly what you are doing considerable damage can be done to carpets and fabrics.

Q. I have black lines all around the edge of my carpet, will they come out?

A. It depends on the severity of the black marks. A professional cleaning technician should be able to significantly improve the appearance, however the source of the problem needs to be dealt with to prevent the staining returning.

Q. The areas in front of settee and armchairs are very dirty; can you get it all out?

A. The dirt can be removed but continual foot movement from all the people who use the furniture will have damaged the carpet fibres. This abrasion will cause a difference in light reflection giving the appearance of light soiling.

ref:-www.ncca.co.uk