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.
While it is possible to keep a home pretty clean with a weekly, let's say, routine of vacuuming, it is also highly probable that this set schedule will not always keep up with the dirt load. Changing conditions often would indicate an infrequent need to vacuum. It is possible for some people that daily vacuuming may be necessary (for instance people who suffer with allergies).
The method of this vacuuming is very important as well. Vacuuming in the exact same pattern each time will tend to leave areas of carpet that will begin to accumulate dirt in areas where the vacuum isn't really getting at it.
The need to alter the pattern is met by the use of multi-direction vacuuming. The video shows this to illustrate, but in essence it is to vacuum carpet from angles as opposed to each other as is practical to help ensure trapped dirt is vacuumed up.
It is also good to overlap the vacuum passes. I routinely overlap by 50% so that each pass is taking in half a new strip of carpet, and half of a already vacuumed strip. This equates to at least two passes for each strip of carpet. Add that I will also try to hit the same carpet from a ninety or one-eighty degree angle, it means that perhaps four passes can be achieved simply by overlapping.
Multiple passes are always useful to thoroughly get out as much dirt as possible. Some experts may recommend as many as ten passes in the same direction on the same strip to truly get as much dirt as possible, and this recommendation is correct. Simply making one pass will pick up some of the dirt in one strip. But subsequent passes will definitely pick up more. As much as is possible one should make at least a few passes of each strip before moving over to the adjoining strip.
Speed of the pass is also very important. Obviously in the video example, I didn't go very slow (time being of the essence as it was a pre-vacuum) but I do recommend that slower passes be made as much as possible. Does this add time to your vacuuming job? Yes of course, but it also greatly enhances the complete removal of all dirt.
Now all of these parts of the whole of proper vacuuming are great to use for everyday vacuuming of a carpet. But as this blog is focused on the Rug Doctor part of the process so heavily, it is essential to bring this into relevance with the rest of the carpet cleaning picture. It is a step done before chemical or water should ever be applied, and if done well makes the job easily more successful than if it is neglected.
Obviously, in the case of a neglected carpet like a property owner may face after a move-out or eviction, the choice of vacuum may be as important as the proper technique of vacuuming. This topic is going to be covered in an upcoming post, but the importance of neglected carpet, and proper vacuuming is within the scope of this post.
To remove as much dirt and debris as is possible with a dry vacuuming is essential. The dirt picked up in the vacuum, if left till extraction, would make the job of cleaning much more difficult. Dirt+water=mud right!
In the video, it can be seen how the overall appearance of the carpet is changed by the vacuuming process. The carpet becomes more brilliant in appearance as the dirt is slowly removed from the fibers.
Agitation of the fibers acts to groom the nap as well, but the simple removal of dust and dirt is really what causes the dramatic improvement in appearance.
Note: The vacuum used in the video is not an aggressive vacuum (the brush-roll doesn't dig in aggressively) because it's design is more towards the philosophy of a gentle flick of the fiber to release what dirt they may into the vacuum airflow, as opposed to a vacuum that really hits the fibers hard to knock loose the dirt (vacuums with a true beater bar use that technique). Either one does the job and personal preferences may weigh out over the concern for long term carpet fiber integrity here.
Agitation helps to remove dirt it is true, but vacuums with no obvious way of agitating the carpet can be used as well and manipulated by the operator to agitate the fibers (whipping the nozzle to use the suction grab and release to yank dirt out of the pile).
In the end, agitation can help ease the removal of as much dirt as possible, but the multiple passes, multiple directions, and speed of pass are also highly important. It is possible to vacuum well with a poor vacuum or vacuum poorly with a great one. Technique matters!
With the dirt removed, the small debris gone, and the carpet fibers freshly loosened to help break up matted areas and traffic lanes, the extraction process is now concentrated on actual deeply embedded dirt and true stains.
Vacuuming as a precursor has done its job to facilitate the removal of the more difficult substances with the Rug Doctor (or similar).
What is left after vacuuming is what often would never have been there if a regular thorough vacuuming schedule had been performed. But that, and the stains from spills and whatnot are why we need Rug Doctor's and such...
Use proper methods and learning as you go will slowly improve your results with the Rug Doctor. Hopefully this post will help you to focus more attention on prep work. That is where the professional distance themselves from the pack. Good luck!
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