Fabric Rinses

[carpetchem]

I am interested to learn how fabric rinses are used:

Are they sprayed on after extraction or shampoo or both?

How are they applied?

How are they removed once applied (or are they left on the carpet?)

 

[Ron Werner]

Can be used both ways, depending on situation.

If you need to use a strong emulsifier to get the fabric clean then you would apply an acidic rinse afterward to neutralize the alkalinity.

If its maintenance cleaning you can use the rinse as the rinse.

Just leave it to dry.
Some rinses even help the drying process.

 

[Jamesh921]

Can be sprayed on after cleaning (carpet or upholstery), raked in and then left to dry, OR

Some guys meter it thru their TM or mix it in the fresh water tank in their portable for use during the "rinse" portion of their cleaning.

Rinse chems are left in/on the fabric to aid in neutralizing the alkaline TLCs we clean with. It also leaves the fabric feeling softer than using just plain water to rinse with. Course, some guys using water softeners my disagree.

 

[carpetchem]

Thanks for the responses! Are there rinses that you'd recommend as being particularly good.

The ones that I've see foam up. What are the benefits of it foaming up? Also, do rinses typically have fragrances?

 

[ascrubabove]

I have used many brands of rinses, and have not had any "foam up". you may be mixing to strong or using an emulsifier thinking it is an acid rinse.

 

[carpetchem]

By foaming, I mean when you shake the bottle, foam appears on top. This would indicate some sort of surfactant or other foaming agent is added. I noticed this in rinses made by Chemspec and Matrix. I am not sure what the advantages of having the rinse foam like that. (Of course, this is only describing what happens when you shake the bottle. It does not describe what happens when you actually apply/spray the rinse)

 

[Jimmy L]

A post spray of acid rinse on the carpet is so dumb.

Especially if they leave a sticky residue.

And most do.

 

[ascrubabove]

I can make a bottle of water foam if i shake it, rinses aid in neutralizing PH, extraction of the cleaning solution (TLC/Pre-sSpray), and leaves the carpet feeling soft to the touch. Yes most rinses have a mild citrus sent

 

[J Scott W]

FOAMING - A rinse agent will have some surfactant to help it penetrate into the nooks and crannies, cracks and crevices and abraded areas that need to be rinsed. But rinse agents are so highly diluted when in use (Typically diluted in a truck mount at somewhere between 320:1 to 500:1.) that foaming is not an issue.

FRAGRANCE - Most fragrances that are added to a product come from essential oils. Oils that are left behind can attract soil and speed up resoiling. As mentioned above, because a rinse agent is so highly diluted, the resoiling due to any added fragrance is very small. But, personally I prefer not to have an added fragrance. Some customers just don't like one more odor in their homes.

 

[sweendogg]

Typically your acid side rinses utilizing acetic acid or hydroxy acetic acids will be some of your better Acid side rinse agents..

 

[Larry Cobb]

Some of the new All Fiber Rinses,
are being used to prevent color bleeding on problem area rugs.

Lisa demonstrated this technique at Connections.

Ours is formulated to perform this function.

http://ccs5.com/zen/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=1123

Larry

 

[Ron Werner]

I like Judson O2 Rinse, leaves it nice and soft

 

[Goomer]

It also leaves the fabric feeling softer than using just plain water to rinse with.

and leaves the carpet feeling soft to the touch.

I like Judson O2 Rinse, leaves it nice and soft

I have personally never attempted to use an acid rinse before, so I have zero experience here.

What is behind the idea that it is "softer"?

Are you sure that it is "softer"?

Softer than what, and how do you know?

Edited for weather update:

Another f'in 11 inches right now.
FML

 

[Ron Werner]

Got a good point, but it still feels really soft somewhat amus
The idea behind it is like conditioner for hair, pH neutralizing, plus leaving it slightly acidic is better for the dyes

 

[idreadnought]

Bridgepoint has a product called encapuguard. It is a post cleaning treatment to neautralize alkaline residues. It also has an encapsulating property about it to crystallize and flake off the carpet after it dries. I use it on all of my residential carpets. customers embrace the idea of neatralizing the carpet and I believe it does provide a little extra protection against rapid resoiling.

 

[joeynbgky]

I use instant jello to rinse with.. then make jigglers with the left overs

 

[Doug Cox]

I've never used fiber rinse to leave the carpets soft, but I do use detergent for that reason.

 

[Johnny]

Stopped by the new Genicare headquarters today to get some of their chems to try.

Guy I met there, Mark, has been formulating Genicare chems since 1970. He just sold the biz to the new guy. They were shipping a container of chems to South Korea.

I asked for, and got, some Clean-It (and other chems), but Mark encouraged me, since I prespray nylon, to rinse with "Fabric Rinse" instead of "Clean-It" because it will leave the carpet softer.

I've tried many brands of fiber rinse on synthetic fibers, (still have a buttload of it for use on natural fibers), but I figger the man knows fibers and chems, so I got some Genicare Fabric Rinse ("Adjusts & Lowers PH, Softens and Brightens Fibers, Prevents Browning & Bleeding, PH 2,9 RTU"), and will give it a go.

 

[Goomer]

because it will leave the carpet softer.

Again with the "softer".

I can maybe see a natural fiber being "softer" as a result, but can someone explain to me how a piece of nylon or polyester can get "softer" by using an acid rinse.

Maybe feeling "smoother" is the case?

 

[Doug Cox]

Rinses don't leave the carpet softer, they leave them less crusty. I use detergents with softening agents in them so the carpets dry soft, otherwise they would dry crusty from the hard water. I also soften my water on the hard and the cold side so it is ultra soft, so I could actually not use any rinse or detergent and be just fine. If a customer complains about crusty carpet, just tell them to vacuum it and it will be soft again.

 

[Goomer]

Rinses don't leave the carpet softer, they leave them less crusty. I use detergents with softening agents in them so the carpets dry soft, otherwise they would dry crusty from the hard water. I also soften my water on the hard and the cold side so it is ultra soft, so I could actually not use any rinse or detergent and be just fine. If a customer complains about crusty carpet, just tell them to vacuum it and it will be soft again.

Ok, that makes some sense.
That must be some pretty hard water to actually make carpet crunchy.

I'm still curious about everyone else's explanations.

 

[glenboy]

my cleaner friend says he will only use all fiber rinse from now on,i tried mine the other day on a nasty job tan carpet,pre-treat with powerstrike and clean with AFR and ill tell u that carpet was really cleaning up well.and my buddy told me he can smell the rinse in his home carpet 3 weeks later and he swears it is soft as can be

 

[Jeremy]

Basically rinses are chelating agents (water softeners & wetting agents) that (some offer a pH correction in addition to) aid(ing) in the removal of pre-spray residues that can lead to a potentialy soil attracting residue. This can also effect the "hand" or feel of the fiber generally making it feel less stiff.

Well formulated rinse agents effectively lower the surface tension of the water helping it penetrate into the pile more effectively and aid in flushing out detergent residues. Some products also offer a lower pH to aid in returning the resting pH of the fiber back to neutral or in some cases substantially lower than 7 pH.