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Allan Simmons Owner & Carpet Cleaner Rotherham Clean & Dry
Rug Cleaning Rotherham

The 11 steps needed for thorough rug cleaning.

It's impossible to do these steps in your home to thoroughly clean your rug.  In-home rug cleaning will, at best, give you a reasonable surface clean that looks good when finished, but then the deep soiling that's not been removed quickly tramples back to the surface. This means that a perhaps slightly cheaper clean was, in fact, a waste of money.  Even if a cleaner takes the rug away, please check they will go through all the necessary steps.

Click each step to see why it gives you the sparkling clean and fresh result your rug deserves.

Step 1. Rug Identification & Inspection

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Step 1. Rug Identification & Inspection.
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Step 1. Rug Identification & Inspection.
We offer a collection & delivery service if required, we can even arrange to move and replace furniture if needed. Please discuss this when you call.

When we visit your home, or you drop your rug off at our workshop, the first step is to identify and inspect your rug.  As fully trained master rug cleaners we will determine the best method of safely cleaning and reviving your rug.  We'll do a couple of small tests on the rug in an inconspicuous area to confirm the fiber content and backing type, then measure the rug.

We'll inspect the rug for pre-existing damage, such as frayed fringes, holes, burns, loose fibers, moth damage, loose backing, pet stains or odour, and any colour-run, as well as several other things like abrash and pile reversal to mention a few.  We'll discuss any issues we find with you and advise what the expected result is likely to be.  We'll work out a firm written price and we guarantee that if you're not delighted with the results we will resolve it, or the cleaning is free.  If you want to go ahead we can take the rug straight away, or you can leave it with us in the workshop if you've visited our drop off point.
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Step 2. Dry Dust and Soil Removal
You might wonder why is this step so important?

If dry soil in the base of the pile and backing isn't removed it just turns to sludge when it's cleaned.  Not removing the dry soil before wet cleaning results in a poor, surface only clean.   It might look good initially, but it soon becomes dull again as the trapped soils are walked on and trample back to the surface.

The rug pile also hides grit and sand, and your rug may not even look dirty, but the dry grit will be deep in the base.  If you leave the grit and sand in the base of the rug it acts like sandpaper.  The sharp grit wears at the very base of the pile as you walk on the rug, this greatly shortens the life of your rug.  Your rug will be vacuumed to remove surface soiling, such as hair and fluff, but vacuuming alone will not remove the deeply embedded grit and sand.  Once your rug has been vacuumed we'll then 'dust' your rug to remove that grit and sand.

How do we 'dust' your rug?

We use the latest machinery that simulates how rugs used to be 'dusted'.  Rugs were often hung over a washing line and the back beaten with a stick or leather belt strap.  This produced clouds of dust that just blew away.  In our workshop, your rug is fed face down through "The Duster", where a spinning bar with leather straps attached beats the backing of the rug.  We control the speed of the beating to cause harmonic vibrations, which make the dry soils and grit in the base of the pile fall out of the rug.  The 'dusting' is done in a vacuum chamber where the fine dust is picked up from the air and filtered out.  The heavier grit and sand falls into the tray below, to be swept away.  This process is repeated until we see no further grit falling out of the rug.

For more delicate rugs, or rugs with much finer dust such as plaster dust, we can use our "air-dusting" process.  This uses compressed air blown through a special tool. The airflow dislodges even the finest dust and the vacuum shroud around the tool safely picks that up and filters it into a tank.

Please watch the video and I think you'll agree that 'dusting' is very different from just vacuuming your rug.
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Step 2. Dry Dust and Soil Removal

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Step 2. Dry Dust and Soil Removal.
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Step 3. Stain & Odour Removal Pre-Treatments

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Step 3. Stain & Odour Removal Pre-Treatments.
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Step 3. Stain & Odour Removal Pre-Treatments.
Why do we pre-treat stains rather than 'just see if they come out'?

By using the specific cleaning product for the different types of stains, or the correct sequence of products if we don't know what the stain is, means there is a much higher chance of removing the stain.   Just jumping straight in and cleaning in the hope stains will come out can make some stains more difficult to remove.

Whilst nobody can guarantee to remove every stain, we regularly remove stains others haven't been able to.   This is because we specialise in rug cleaning and we have a range of specialist products most normal carpet cleaners would not carry as standard.  Some of these products have a very short shelf life, so unless you're doing this type of work all the time the product would "go-off", which is why many carpet cleaners do not use them.
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Step 4. Pre-Wash Soak.
Some soils and stains won't dissolve instantly, whatever cleaning agent you use.

A pre-wash soak means deep embedded soils, and particularly oily soiling like that from a dogs coat, have time to dissolve fully, so they can all be washed away.

Urine odours and stains are made up of hard crystals, and only by pre-wash soaking in a specialist product can you dissolve them fully.  This step means you get a full deep clean, rather than a surface clean.

The cleaning solutions is circulated in the pre-wash tank, and regularly drained and refreshed to ensure no cross contamination between rugs.
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Step 4. Pre-Wash Soak

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Step 4. Pre-Wash Soak.
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Step 5. Washing

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Step 5. Washing.
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Step 5. Washing.
From the pre-wash soak tank your rug is fed onto the moving conveyor of our fully adjustable, flatbed washing machine.

With four, counter rotating soft brush heads your rug is gently scrubbed more evenly and effectively than using a manual rotary machine on the floor.

We adjust the feed speed of the conveyor and the volume of water and cleaning product used. Unlike a manual rotary on the floor, we can also adjust the height and pressure of the soft brush heads.  Adjusting the speed and pressure means your rug is safely cleaned in the most thorough way possible, giving you the best result on  even the most  delicate rugs.

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Step 6. Rinsing & Application of Softener.
Thorough rinsing is essential, as leaving cleaning products in your rug means they will re-soil quickly and soon look dull again.  In the middle east they wash and rinse their rugs in running streams, to get plenty of water flow.

We don’t have a running stream, but the next best thing.  Our process gently pressure washes your rug using two spray heads and a squeegee.  It goes back and forth over the rug, multiple times, to rinse and squeegee out the soils and cleaner from the washing process.  We can adjust the speed of the feed through, to be sure the rinsing is as thorough as needed.  We can also adjust the pressure for those more delicate rugs too.

The rinse water drains away, where it’s filtered before disposing of it in a safe, approved way.

If you have a wool rug, as it leaves the rinse section we apply a softener.  As the rug is already wet this soaks deep into the fibres and pile, leaving you with a soft and fresh smelling rug again.

The rug rolls up awaiting the next step, centrifuge spin drying.

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Step 6. Rinsing & Application of Softener

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Step 6. Rinsing & Application of Softener.
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Step 7. Centrifuge Spin Drying

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Step 7. Centrifuge Spin Drying
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Step 7. Centrifuge Spin Drying
Your clean, but wet rolled up rug is put into a long tube spin dryer, known as a centrifuge.

It’s essential if you thoroughly clean a rug that you dry it quickly.  Most of the problems caused by cleaning are often because of slow drying.  The centrifuge spins at up to 1200 rpm for three to eight minutes depending on the rug, but it’s spun until there is no more water draining out of the machine.   We remove 93-98% of the water that was left in the rinse process. This means your rug is now drier than any vacuum extraction process can achieve.  At this stage a drier rug is a cleaner rug, as less rinse residue means less remaining soil dissolved in it.

For delicate rugs we can adjust the spin speed accordingly, so even most delicate rugs can receive the full treatment to get the best results for you.

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Step 8. Grooming & Inspection.
This is one of the most important parts of the process.   Cleaning a rug is a little like washing your hair. If you wash and rinse your hair, then towel it dry but don’t comb it, your hair dries stuck up all over.  I doesn't look great.

Grooming is the equivalent of combing your hair. We use the 'comb' that's appropriate for your rug type.  That's fine carding brush on silk through to a stiffer bristled brush on synthetic shag pile rugs.  We’ll use the appropriate brush to make sure all the pile is laying in the correct direction so it looks great when it's dry

As we groom your rug we’ll also be inspecting to check that the spots and stains have come out completely with the wash process.  Any that haven’t we treat again as the next step if needed.

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Step 8. Grooming & Inspection

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Step 8. Grooming & Inspection.
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Step 9. Additional Spot Cleaning or Colour Correction Work as needed

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Step 9. Additional Spot Cleaning or Colour Correction Work as needed.
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Step 9. Additional Spot Cleaning or Colour Correction Work as needed.
Any remaining marks are treated again to see if we can remove them.  We have a procedure to follow to test various products on any remaining stains.  If they can be removed  we do so now with a hand held rinse extraction tool.  If needed we'll rinse and spin the rug again.  We can’t guarantee to remove every stain 100%, but not many beat us.

At this point were also looking to see if there has been any colour migration on the rug. This is something that we would have discussed with you at the pre-inspection stage if your rug was a 'bleeder'.   We would have pre-treated the rug to reduce, or prevent this happening.  At this stage we do the colour correction work to remove that colour migration before the rug dries and the dyes set.  We then rinse and spin the rug again.
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Step 10. Temperature & Humidity Controlled Drying

Step 10. Temperature & Humidity Controlled Drying.
Your rug is either hung to dry, or dried flat on the floor depending on the rug type.

Our drying room is heated, and temperature and humidity controlled to ensure the optimum drying conditions.  Your slightly damp rugs have warm dry air blown over them, and most rugs dry overnight or within 24 hours.

Some rugs need to be 'blocked out' to prevent them distorting.  Others need to have the corners clamped to prevent them curling.  Whatever is needed to ensure correct drying, we do it before closing the doors to the drying room at the end of the shift for overnight drying.

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Step 10. Temperature & Humidity Controlled Drying.
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Step 11. Final Vacuuming, Inspection, Finishing Touches & Packing for Return

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Step 11. Final Vacuuming, Inspection, Finishing Touches & Packing for Return.
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Step 11. Final Vacuuming, Inspection, Finishing Touches & Packing for Return.
We check your rug is dry using a moisture meter.

If it’s dry it’s taken to the inspection and finishing table where it’s brushed and vacuumed to remove any last bits of loose fluff.   With full spectrum lights above the table we inspect the rug as it's vacuumed to double check stains and look for any other issues.  If there are any long tufts those are trimmed and if it's a hand knotted rug we’re also looking for things like 'white knots' and other hand knotted rug issues that need attention before final packing.

Your rug is given a very fine mist of a fresh smelling fragrance, then rolled and packed into a perforated bag for storage on our rack.  If your rug is going into long term storage, or you are shipping it somewhere, please let us know before we pack your rug.  We can custom pack it especially for storage or transport as needed.

We will call you, or send a text or email to confirm your rug is ready for you to collect, or for us to deliver.
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