Hot Water Extraction is the carpet cleaning method recommended by most carpet fiber manufacturers and carpet mills. Recommendations include periodic thorough cleaning of carpets performed by well-trained and experienced carpet cleaning personnel. Hot water extraction is the method of deep rinse cleaning the entire carpet. Hot water extraction has also been called "steam cleaning" but actual live steam (gas created at waters boiling point) is not employed in the cleaning process. Hot water extraction is a deep cleaning process that removes embedded soils that have been carried or blown into the carpet.

A hot water carpet extractor, whether a portable or truck mounted, has a pump which dispenses water, under pressure, through spray nozzles into the carpet and a high powered vacuum system that vacuums the dirty water into a recovery tank within the carpet extractor.

We recommend this procedure of hot water extraction for carpet restoration. This system includes a three step process:

1. Pre-vacuum the entire carpet area with a high quality dual motor vacuum of backpack vacuum with no less than 105 CFM vacuum motor.

2. Pre-spray carpeted area with a pre-treat and traffic lane cleaner, one that is not too strong (or too alkaline). They may damage the carpet. A ph of 10 or less is preferred for most carpets. Traffic lane pre-spotter for heavily soiled areas is recommended. Wait the recommended time before beginning the cleaning process.

3. A complete rinse with hot water is used. This is accomplished by adding an acid/neutralizer to the solution tank of the carpet extractor. No other cleaner/detergent is used for this process. The clean, softened, hot water is sprayed into the carpet fibers through spray nozzles. The spray rinses all added chemicals, cleaners, and dirt into an attached high powered vacuum shoe that sucks the dirty solution back into a holding tank on the extraction unit. The removed soil is held in the tank until it may be disposed of later in a sanitary drain, toilet, or proper waste facility. Solutions should not be dumped onto the ground outside, in storm sewers, or in the streets. EVER!

When carpet is extracted using the hot water extraction method, we recommend you follow these important procedures:

A. Vacuum the area to be extracted thoroughly, before using the extraction equipment. A cleaning solution will only carry a certain amount of soil so this procedure (often overlooked) is extremely important to get the most out of your extraction process.

B. Apply a traffic lane pre-spotter on heavily soiled areas prior to extraction and repeat pre-spray and rinse after first pass if needed. Wait the recommended time before beginning the cleaning process to let the chemical do the work.

C. Avoid over wetting the carpet. Two vacuum passes for every wet pass is desirable. More is not always better. Proper procedure goes farther than more water and more chemical. A trained technician knows the limits of their equipment and cleaning chemicals.

D. Dry the carpets as quickly as possible. Speed drying is aided by using carpet drying fans to move air across the carpeting. This can reduce the overall drying time by as much as forty percent.

E. With fine wool carpets and upholstery care must be taken not to over wet the carpet and upholstery fiber to cause browning and shrinkage. A de-browning rinse procedure may be used to prevent such occurrences on light colored fibers.