Vacuum Carpet First: Essential Step for Professional Cleaning

Vacuuming: An Essential Step When Having Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned

Plus other tips to help make sure it’s done right

Does your carpet cleaning technician vacuum first before he turns on the extractor? He should, and here’s why, from Daniel Frimml, Technical Service Representative for cleaning equipment manufacturer Tornado Industries, a Carpet and Rug Institute Seal of Approval Participating company. The article titled What is the number one thing carpet cleaning technicians forget to do when they clean carpets? is posted on MyCleanlink.com, a website for cleaning professionals.

“Vacuuming is key to carpet extraction. This is because as much as 80 percent of the soil in carpets is dry soil, which is typically light and small, and most of it can be removed through proper vacuuming with a quality vacuum cleaner.

However, as soon as moisture is applied to this dry soil, which occurs in the extraction process, the dry soil turns to mud. Now it is heavy and considerably larger, negatively impacting the cleaning performance of the unit.

The result of not vacuuming is that the carpets are not cleaned as well as they could be, which impacts their appearance. Further, rapid resoiling can occur because the mud, now mixed with chemical solution residue, actually attracts soil to the carpet.

Bottom line: The professional and proper way to clean carpets is to always vacuum them first.”

On cleanfreak.com, an article on carpet cleaning for the do-it-yourselfer - titled Carpet Extraction Procedure - also lists vacuuming as an important first step prior to using a rented or purchased carpet extracting system.

“1. Preparation - Remove all obstructions from the area to be cleaned. If possible, remove the furniture. Vacuum the area with a dual motor vacuum prior to cleaning with a carpet extractor.“

And that follows right along with the recommendations published in CRI’s booklet, Carpet Cleaning Tips for Dummies.  According to author Elizabeth Goldsmith, Florida State University professor and household management expert,

“If you are a do-it-yourselfer, here are the steps to take for effective cleaning. Remember, this does not replace the need for periodic professional cleaning!

1. Remove furniture. If too heavy, place plastic film under and around the legs of furniture.

2. Vacuum thoroughly first — this often has the biggest impact on the whole process!”

Finally, make sure you are using an effective and efficient vacuum by selecting one that has been approved by CRI’s Seal of Approval testing and certification program for carpet cleaning products and equipment. All of the vacuums in the SOA program have been rigorously tested and shown to remove and contain soil without damaging carpet. 

There is a great deal of good information online about how to keep carpet clean and well-maintained – much of it published right here on the Carpet and Rug Institute blog. But there’s nothing I like more than to be agreed with, and I am always pleased to find other sources of good information for consumers.

By the way, you may enjoy reading some of the other posts that Daniel Frimml has written for CleanLink.

~Bethany