Chemical. How quickly do your carpets re-soil, do they have to?
If the residue left behind by your current cleaner is even remotely sticky, your dirt problem still exists, just to a lesser extent.
A new detergent technology has provided us with a state-of-the-art surfactant that suspends and encapsulates soil. It then dries to microscopic size crystals that will not stick to carpet fibres and are easily removed when you vacuum next.
Over the years, manufacturers have tried to improve soil resistance. Polymers have been added to cleaning products, causing them to dry harder. However, these products often seal soil into the carpet and polymers tend to change the carpet’s texture and resilience. Products such as fluorocarbons are also often added. These are highly touted because of their stain resistant qualities.
However, the thing to remember in commercial carpet cleaning is that heavy soiling in traffic lane areas is the issue, not stains from spills such as wine and soft drinks — which are really household problems and are not that relevant in the commercial world. Up to now, aggressive rinsing after thorough cleaning has been the only solution.
As part of a cleaning solution, fluorocarbon is about 1 % of the total solids. Diluted at 2 ounces per gallon, the percent drops to 1/6th of 1%, most of which the extraction machine will pick-up. i.e., fluorocarbon is insignificant in reducing re-soiling.
In actual use, NaceCare’s Just for Carpet is consistently superior to solutions containing fluorocarbons. The following head to head test was done to demonstrate this.
Requirements for a Fair Test:
• The two cleaning solutions be diluted at the same percentages
• Exactly the same amount of each solution be used on carpets of the same size
• The drying time be realistic and the same for both products
• The soil and the amount of soil the test carpets are exposed to be the same
 Test Method:
In order to meet the above requirements in a measurable and repeatable scientific manner, the tests were conducted with laboratory equipment known as a Snell capsule. This is a hexagonal box that turns much like a squirrel run. It was developed by Foster D. Snell Test Laboratories and is widely used to evaluate floor finishes for black mark resistance.
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