Pre-Vacuuming. The Vital Precursor To Carpet Cleaning That Almost Nobody Does...

In the video below, a room is vacuumed prior to carpet cleaning.  What is important to note from the video is how important it is to do a thorough job when performing this task.



Rug Doctor makes a great machine. It works best though when proper steps are taken to ensure good results. As some of my other posts have discussed set-up and pre-spraying, as well as various other facets of successful carpet cleaning, I'd be remiss if I didn't at least touch on this very important part as well.

When attempting to do any task properly, a bit of thought must be applied to the job at hand if we are to do it in a professional manner, and in carpet cleaning there is a need to understand proper vacuuming as being as important in it's own right as understanding the chemistry of which products to use on which stains, how or when to use hot verses cold water, how to achieve proper extraction of all residue and soils and so on.

Vacuuming is the one part of carpet cleaning that is performed in the most continual manner. This is because most of the dirt and debris that finds it's way into the carpet is dry and accumulated rather constantly. Therefore it behooves one to perform a proper vacuuming on a schedule, which may need adjusted depending on changing conditions.

Some Stains Are Just Evil...Pure Evil

As this video shows, sometimes a stain is persistent. It will be difficult to remove under the best of circumstances, but by using some basic principles of carpet cleaning you can achieve success (or at least a marked improvement).

First, do a thorough pre-vacuum to remove all the loose particulate and surface dirt. Only then can you access the true magnitude of the stains present, and evaluate what chemicals may be needed.

When vacuuming, be sure to really concentrate on maximum pick-up and take your time. Hit the carpet with well overlapped passes at a moderate to slow speed. Try to vacuum from more than one direction on each section of carpet and make several passes to ensure as much debris as possible gets picked up.

Note: if you have a bagged vacuum, make sure the bag isn't full and that you still getting adequate suction. Also adjust the brushroll (if equipped) to a proper height...bagless models should have clean filters and not be overfilled or they won't pick up properly.