How long does it take for carpet to dry?
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Carpets
Windows
General
Carpets
This can depend on a number of factors, such as humidity levels. The aim is for between 6-8 hours.
There are a number of ways to clean carpets.
Typically a restorative clean is needed if you haven’t had your carpets cleaned in the last 12 months. This is also known as Hot Water Extraction, or ‘steamcleaning’. This involves pre-inspection, vacuuming using a powerhead brush, attending to any specific stains or spots you’ve asked us to treat, pre-spraying using a solution fit for the job, agitating this into the carpet pile, rinsing with a very hot solution and extracting straight back out. Depending on the type of carpet we may also groom the pile afterwards.
Your carpet is like a big filter. A good maintenance schedule helps not only for health reasons but for the longevity of your carpet. It is also very good at hiding just how much soiling it holds. If you can imagine only ever vacuuming but never mopping your hard floors over a year, you can get an idea of what is hiding in your carpet.
Carpets typically should be restoratively cleaned once every 12-18 months, depending on the type of premises you have and how much usage it gets. Between these restorative cleans, the carpet should have an interim clean; this process is much quicker, dries much faster and can be done whatever the weather. This ‘encapsulates’ the soiling on the surface and crystallises as it dries, ready to be vacuumed 24 hours afterwards.
Yes, you can get the tools and do it yourself. But just like other trades, it's better to get the professionals to do the job. You won't be able to achieve same results by using supermarket cleaners. Our tools and equipment are of the highest quality but it’s not just about that; the results are also about how we apply our knowledge and skill-set to achieve the best results possible.
We can never guarantee the removal of all stains. Often, time really is of the essence. The best chance to remove any stain is to treat it as soon as possible. What the carpet is made of can also be a factor.
The longer it sits in the carpet the more difficult it becomes to remove. Too long and it can become permanent. It also helps us to know the origin of any stains or spots in order to give us the best chance of successful removal.
If you want the carpet underneath any furniture to be cleaned then yes, ideally we would prefer that you move this to avoid us charging additional fees to move it for you. Often we are one person on the job so moving heavy items isn’t always possible. If you want us to work around the furniture and clean just the exposed carpet then you can leave the furniture where it is. We would ask that anything that is in the way would be removed before we arrive, for example chairs, coffee table, bags, boxes etc, again to avoid incurring any unnecessary further charges and allowing our team to remain on schedule.
We would prefer that you leave the vacuuming to us. We have a specific vacuum that goes deep into the carpet pile to recover as much dry soiling as possible before the carpet becomes wet. If you do vacuum the carpet beforehand we will likely still need to vacuum using our own equipment first, so you can save yourself the effort; it’s all part of the service!
It depends on what the base of the furniture is made of. Anything made of plastic is fine to move straight back on the carpet if you wish to. You should move this slightly after 24 hours so any residual moisture from underneath can dry out. If what you put back onto the carpet is made of wood then you risk creating bleeding or browning stains on the carpet as it absorbs the moisture. Metal may create rust spots on the carpet. This doesn’t mean you can’t put the furniture back straight away, sometimes this simply isn’t practical, in which case you can simply lay some plastic underneath. This creates a barrier and won’t harm the carpet or the furniture. The furniture should then be moved 24 hours later to allow any residual moisture from underneath to dry out, at which point the plastic squares can be removed and disposed of.
This could be a bag or some spare plastic wallets for example. We can also supply and put some plastic
underneath for you.
Yes, we can. We have chemicals and tools specifically designed for this purpose. The methods of how these are cleaned can vary depending on what the upholstery is made of.
No, it shouldn’t smell bad at all. This is a sign of over-wetting. Sometimes when we do a job for the first time, this stale type of smell reappears from the last time it was cleaned. Proper cleaning and the deodorising properties of the chemicals we use normally resolve this. We can also apply a purpose-made deodoriser if you wish after the cleaning process is complete; however, it typically isn’t necessary to apply this to a carpet that has been cleaned correctly.
Windows
As often as you like. Depending on what our clients' needs or wishes are, as well as their budget, we do a range of weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly and bi-annual cleans. Our advice would be to have your windows cleaned first, then see how long it takes before you feel they need cleaning again. You can then decide to have them cleaned at whatever interval that may be. You can of course also just call us as and when you’d like them done however we would certainly advise having them cleaned at least every 6 months.
Typically we clean windows on the outside using water-fed poles containing pure water. This enables us to clean the frames and glass in one operation at no extra charge, as well as reach more challenging window panes and high windows. Your tap water is fed through our system, stripping dissolved and undissolved solids from it leaving nothing but pure H2O on your glass. This means any remaining water on the glass from cleaning can be left to dry, leaving no water spots behind.
Inside windows are cleaned using professional window washers and squeegees. We have a range of these to suit many types of windows and can also reach higher panes using these tools attached to a
pole.
We can clean up to 4 storeys high outside using our water-fed poles. We would advise you to contact a high-rise window cleaning company as abseiling or specialist lifts may be required.
Due to the increased challenges in seeing what we’re doing and in the interests of keeping us from getting sick, we will likely postpone cleaning outside windows if it’s raining too heavily to work well. Inside windows are never a problem, rain or shine.
Water spotting comes from using tap water on glass. We strip this out using our system and we measure the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in the water we’re using to clean your windows to ensure it won’t leave water spots. So while we don’t cause any water spotting it does not reverse the damage already done.
Our advice would be to never use or allow the use of tap water, bore water or anything other than pure water to contact your glass. Water in the Waikato is particularly high in silica content. Glass is itself high in silica. Once the water dries it then makes a tight molecular bond to the glass, making the removal of water spots a restoration process as opposed to a cleaning one. There are ways to do this, however, it isn’t a service we currently offer.
General
No, not if we can help it. All our chemicals are safe for use and fit for purpose. We clean a range of things at a range of premises and sometimes this can involve using chemicals which must do the job and there is no ‘green’ alternative. However for the most part, all our chemicals are user-friendly, require no PPE, are septic tank safe, biodegradable and where necessary adhere to food safety standards.
In recent years the word ‘chemicals’ in the cleaning industry has become known as a dirty word and many now automatically think that all chemicals are harsh. This simply isn’t true. Chemicals are in almost everything we eat, drink, touch and smell. They save lives in the medical industry and help ensure you don’t get food poisoning every time you eat out. They are all around us and are a necessary part of our lives.
Yes. If you are some distance from our bases in Cambridge or Te Awamutu we may instead request
images of the job in hand in order to provide you with a desk estimate.
We are a professional cleaning service. Running a professional service comes with many more
overheads than someone who works as an independent cleaner earning themselves a wage.
For example, we are obliged to charge GST on our services and products. We carry various insurances, have the running costs of vehicles (insurance, tax, WOF, tyres, services, repairs, fuel, cleaning etc), the costs of hiring staff (training, kiwisaver, ACC fees for example), investment in quality and reliable tools, equipment and products in order to help us give you the best results we can (that includes repairing, replacing parts or replacing entirely). We also have to spend time doing compliance work for the government and Worksafe. We have cloths and mops to launder daily, chemicals to dilute, refill, restock, source various supplies, keep our equipment clean and safe for use, admin work, client liaison, and many other costs, all part of running a professional operation.
We price honestly and can always adjust job specs to meet your budget if you have one. When it comes to cleaning results, ultimately anything is achievable; we are only limited by what our client is willing to pay.
Ultimately you do. We will speak with you during the quotation to decide what your cleaning needs are. If we’re working contractually with you on a repetitive basis we will work autonomously within the specifications agreed upon in a written agreement. On occasion, we will choose tasks to work through for you on a rotational basis, this is because we know that just as Rome wasn't built in a day, it wasn't cleaned in one either. Some tasks need to be done daily or every visit, while others need only be carried out a few times per year for example.
We’re always happy to discuss this with you and make our intentions clear so that we're all on the same page, however, we’re used to clients being happy to let us manage their cleaning for them and this is how
most of our commercial clients like it.
If you wish for an initial spring clean before we get started this comes at an extra charge and can of course be priced first.