Carpet Cleaning Dry Times
How long should it take my carpets to dry after a professional cleaning? This is the most frequently asked question we get after “how much?” I’ve heard horror stories of inexpensive cleaners leaving carpets so wet that they remained damp for several days. It is our goal to have dry carpets in 4-8 hours after cleaning. Why so long and why such a time variable?
The reason our dry times vary is that every home and situation is different. Certain carpet fibers take longer to dry. Wool absorbs up to 30 percent of its weight in water. Polypropylene carpet absorbs no water so all the moisture stays on the surface, making the carpet feel damp for much longer.
Another factor in drying times is the amount of soil in your carpet. If it has been a while since your last cleaning or if the carpet is heavily soiled, more cleaners have to be used to break loose the embedded soils than a carpet that is professionally cleaned more often.
Temperature and humidity also play a factor in drying times after cleaning. On cold days or more humid environments, dry times can be significantly longer. This is because heat and air movement cause moisture to evaporate much more quickly that cold, still environments. Humid environments don’t allow quick evaporation, as the air is full of moisture and therefore does not readily accept more moisture. Warm, dry air makes for much faster dry times, think of your hair dryer or even a clothes dryer. Hot, dry air on high will dry your hair much faster than the low, cool setting. As a side note, longer hair takes longer to dry than short hair. Likewise, longer shag takes longer to dry than a shorter fiber carpet.
So why does it vary from cleaner to cleaner? The first part of that answer is the method used to clean. Low moisture methods are available and some franchises only clean using this method. When less moisture is used, there is less moisture to evaporate. Although we offer this method for cleaning your residence, many times there are soils that require flushing with water to properly clean a home. Such instances are urine, vomit, or other substances that are best cleaning with steam cleaning, also called hot water extraction. Poor quality equipment, portable equipment, or cleaning without following up with extra dry passes can also leave your carpets damp longer. The less you pay for a cleaning, generally the longer the dry times will be as the equipment used and effort made in drying your carpet will be at a minimum. Our company uses high powered, truck mounted equipment that is powered by the V-8 engine in our van instead of a small horse powered engine similar to a lawnmower. We also use larger diameter hose to allow more airflow and teflon glided Wanda designed to extract the maximum amount of moisture possible. The wands are also equipped with a sight glass so we can see when we have extracted all the moisture so that we can leave your carpets as dry as possible. If you are having several rooms cleaned, we can bring in a powerful airmover to start drying the carpets in the most heavily used areas. Many times these areas are dry to the touch before we leave your home. Stairways, hallways, closets and rooms with lots of furniture tend to be the areas that are slowest to dry as it is harder to move air over these areas.
It is the goal of Exceptional Carpet Cleaning to leave your carpets as clean as possible and to dry the carpets as quickly as we can do you can return to enjoying your home. With that said, your carpets are dry when we arrive so you are paying for clean carpet. Because of that, clean will always be our number one concern. Dry times are important to us but not at the expense of the quality of cleaning. If you have any questions about dry times or any cleaning question, please don’t hesitate to call us! 405-326-5487
From all of us at Exceptional Carpet Cleaning, have an exceptional day!!
