Best tool for cleaning woven area carpets on location?

[ruff]

In your experience what is the best tool to clean woven, wool area carpets.
I am talking about expensive wool area carpets that are cut and bound like a rug. Any excessive water may cause warping and or shrinkage. Too much scrubbing may potentially fuzz the wool.

1. So which is the VLM machine that will cause the least amount of fuzzing in wool?
2. Which product do you use? Is it Wool Safe?
3. Long term soil loading?
4. How do you deal with binding (shows substantially more wear in high use areas, does not clean as well, may shrink and cause warping and corners to curl.)

I frequently hot water extract clean it, with very low pressure, wet clean pass on the pull only, many dry passes, controlling and removing moisture on over laps both on side and front + fan. Works well, still somewhat risky. Also can be done in plant- Costly.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Have you tried your Zipper on it? I would think it would give your flushing ability and yet leave it very dry also.

Personally it sounds like something that will be problematic no matter how you clean it. I might use a Host machine and compound. That would have the least potential for damage and still give you a pop in texture and smell clean. My only concern with Host is removal of the compound. Id go easy on the prep and the compound.

A CRB with soft brushes maybe but I'd have some concern if it had stiffer brushes.

I think OP may be too aggressive for the seams, I'd not use OP. Those custom rugs are not always put together all that well.

 

[ruff]

The zipper will leave it drier no doubt (better recovery) but will still have the same issues of water being able to reach the jute core.

And dang Richard, that thread had 4 questions.

Quatro!

 

[ruff]

Where's Oz when one needs him?

 

[The Great Oz]

You might get away with on-lo cleaning a plain piece of bound carpet, but I wouldn't touch a woven border rug on-location. Woven wool tends to be expensive and prone to shrinkage, so the client has the money to send the rug off-site, and it will be an expensive fix for you when your luck runs out.

Some newer wool-face weaves have all synthetic backings. They're more prone to rippling as they grow too big for the edge treatment.

So which is the VLM machine that will cause the least amount of fuzzing in wool?

A rotary Drimaster.

Which product do you use? Is it Wool Safe?

We use a HWE product produced locally that is rebranded for a major label. In private label form it does not carry a Woolsafe logo.

Long term soil loading?

It's an extraction tool so very little residue.

How do you deal with binding (shows substantially more wear in high use areas, does not clean as well, may shrink and cause warping and corners to curl.)

Plastic or pad scrap to protect the floor. Shrinkage is a concern if the rug backing is very pliable, and dark colored binding has a tendency to bleed into the face yarn as it dries.

 

[ruff]

Thanks Bryan.
I was hoping for the magic bullet to be able to do it safely on location.

Would any of the oscillating floor machine with a pad be able to do a decent job without fuzzing it?

 

[Desk Jockey]

The zipper will leave it drier no doubt (better recovery) but will still have the same issues of water being able to reach the jute core.

And dang Richard, that thread had 4 questions.

Quatro!

#2 See first response
#3 See first response
#4 See first response


Oz I'm suprised you said Drimaster. Is it becausr of the flat base? Too me the seem very aggressive. We have a couple of them but rarely use them anymore.

 

[ruff]

What about #1 ?

 

[The Great Oz]

Excluding a low-pile, or tightly looped construction, any physical agitation of wool fibers will pull individual fibers and create fuzz or felting. The trick is to reduce friction as much as possible, so if you were to attempt cleaning a berber style wool rug with a bonnet it would need to be well lubricated with a slippery detergent. There will be residue.

You can do surface skim cleaning with a wand you know. Use a glide. Don't turn your pressure to 600psi or higher to make up for the loss of agitation and you won't have to buy an Aerotech to get the water back out.

Send rugs that actually need cleaning to a shop.

 

[Buck1955]

I've done small rugs that I'm concerned about with encap juice and hand towels.

 

[ruff]

There was a guy here in S.F. that did all the Pacific Height (a very wealthy neighborhood) clients Starks and Wiltons woven area carpets, on location.
He would use mops and towels and was a master of the "psychological" cleaning.
The area carpets, to my opinion, were loaded with residue and I would not call what he did, cleaning. However, all the designers who chose these unpractical rugs, loved him.

 

[GeeeAus]

In your experience what is the best tool to clean woven, wool area carpets.
I am talking about expensive wool area carpets that are cut and bound like a rug. Any excessive water may cause warping and or shrinkage. Too much scrubbing may potentially fuzz the wool.

1. So which is the VLM machine that will cause the least amount of fuzzing in wool?
2. Which product do you use? Is it Wool Safe?
3. Long term soil loading?
4. How do you deal with binding (shows substantially more wear in high use areas, does not clean as well, may shrink and cause warping and corners to curl.)

I frequently hot water extract clean it, with very low pressure, wet clean pass on the pull only, many dry passes, controlling and removing moisture on over laps both on side and front + fan. Works well, still somewhat risky. Also can be done in plant- Costly.

Honestly.........

A Kirby dry foam shampooer. It has a single drum type brush roll but the brush does not 'ride' on the carpet supporting the machine's entire weight as most other scrubber devices do. Instead there is some height adjustment offered on a front axle which prevents excessive pressure being applied to the face yarns.

The system is designed for application of dry foam encapsulant shampoo, but it can work in many types of pre-treaters prior to HWE.

http://vimeo.com/49831527

Grant