How Long Does It Take To Dry?

[Jim Pemberton]

I know this is the most common, or one of the most common questions that you are asked.

I was inspired to ask this one today based on two occurances:

1. I was visiting an acquaintence and she was thrilled to tell me how happy she was with a carpet cleaning job that had been done earlier in the week. The comment that caught my attention was: "I'd have had you over sooner, but ******* ******* told me not to put my furniture back in the room until 48 hours later to assure complete drying.

But she was happy. I couldn't get over that.

Then I read this exerpt from reviews of a carpet cleaning company posted on a web site:

"My assessment is: this one is working. The steam cleaning did not have a chemical smell, it dried in about 36 hours, the price was right, and my carpets look brand spanking new. Now if only I can get the landlord to repay me the money I spent, since my steaming proved they did not clean the carpets before we moved in. Enjoy!"

Its amazing what people will accept, isn't it?

 

[R W]

2-8 hours. As usual, it depends on humidity, air movement, type and density of fiber, temperature, and operator skill.

And a good air mover....fan.

 

[Dolly Llama]

most here don't know how long it really takes to dry.
Most here call "dry" by using some silly subjective range of dampness

Obviously there's a myriad of variables.
Humidity, air movement, how trashed/how much pre-spray is used, carpet type, whether adding protectant (and what kind and/or RTU application rate)

in "general" though, accounting for most variables, anywhere from 2 to 24 hours


..L.T.A.

 

[Chris A]

I can't believe I'm saying this, because Larry's gonna come over here and beat me, but I tell customers 1-2 hours, and check up about drying on my follow-up. Remember, customers aren't using moisture meters either.

 

[bob vawter]

It's dry when the customer says it's dry.......and since I am on a closed loop of customers that have used me for years...they MUST be purty happy!

 

[Jeremy]

Dry in an hour with OP. :wink: :!:

 

[rotovacguy]

2-8 hours. As usual, it depends on humidity, air movement, type and density of fiber, temperature, and operator skill.

And a good air mover....fan.

Exactly.


Here in Wisconsin, much like you guys in Ohio, we get warm humid summers, along with cold, very dry winters. All depends on a lot of variables, but 2-8 hours is pretty much the norm.

 

[Rex Tyus]

I can't help but chuckle everytime I read someone from the north speak of "warm humid summers".


It last what.....2 WEEKS? :roll:

Real humidity would kill many of the guys on the boards.

 

[rotovacguy]

I can't help but chuckle everytime I read someone from the north speak of "warm humid summers".


It last what.....2 WEEKS? :roll:

Real humidity would kill many of the guys on the boards.

Geez Rex, 100% humidity is 100%....I didn't know it went any higher.


I agree, we don't get it as long as you guys in Florida, but we get plenty of 90-100 degree days with near 100% humidity up here, and our winters......well, lets not go there.

 

[Dolly Llama]

I can't believe I'm saying this, because Larry's gonna come over here and beat me, but I tell customers 1-2 hours, and check up about drying on my follow-up. Remember, customers aren't using moisture meters either.

Chris, do you tell them they can move all their wood and metal furniture back in 1 to 2 hours?

I always tell them truth when they ask.
It's generally dry before you go to bed.
but I suggest they wait til the next morning before moving all their furniture back


..L.T.A.

 

[Chris A]

I usually advise against it, just to CMA, but in reality, I think they absolutely could move furniture on almost any carpet after 2 hours without any issue at all.

 

[Ernie G]

I agree with Larry, thats realistic and safe.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I always tell them truth when they ask.
It's generally dry before you go to bed.
but I suggest they wait til the next morning before moving all their furniture back

I totally agree!

What's the definition of dry?

I must have a tougher definition of dry? I'm talking dry to a moisture detector and I've yet to see residential carpet cleaned in this part of the country dry in a few hours.

If it did dry that fast, it wasn't thoroughly cleaned. We get 80/80 days in the summer and early fall, spring it rains buckets. It's very dry in the winter, but it's so cold we don't clean that much residential carpet.

 

[R W]

I can't help but chuckle everytime I read someone from the north speak of "warm humid summers".


It last what.....2 WEEKS? :roll:

Real humidity would kill many of the guys on the boards.

Rex....we don't get the hot, humid days you get in Florida, but we can get some nasty stretches of hot and warm, humid days that just don't end, and they last more than 2 weeks! Your advantage???....you can head to the beach!

 

[Chris A]

If a customer asks, "how long to be dry per the scientific definition of dry where the GPP in the carpet is equal to that before the carpet was cleaned," I would have to say 4 hours or so However, for practical purposes, 1-2 hours is attainable in most cases. If anything having the custy turn on the furnace fan makes a big difference, especially in rainy weather. I do 3 dry strokes though, is that too much?

 

[Rex Tyus]

Geez Rex, 100% humidity is 100%....I didn't know it went any higher.


I agree, we don't get it as long as you guys in Florida, but we get plenty of 90-100 degree days with near 100% humidity up here, and our winters......well, lets not go there.

Actually 100% humidity at 75 degrees is not the same as 100% humity at 98. This summer when your temps get to where you call it hot, pm me nd let me know what the dew point is. We can compare. :wink:

:mrgreen:

Not that I am really proud of being the one stupid enough to live in an area so freaking miserable so many months out of the year.


But on the other hand I am wearing shorts today.

 

[Dolly Llama]

But on the other hand I am wearing shorts today.

color coordinated with your CROCs, no doubt..... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


..L.T.A.

 

[harryhides]

When a hose is blocked or has a hole in it, drying can take days.
When we use OP about an hour.
Otherwise around 6-8 hours which seems acceptable to most of our custies who a few years ago were used to waiting for a day or two from our competitors.
When its raining it always seems to take longer to dry. Of course our rain is quite different than that stuff they get in Florida - you'd have to be a nutter to live 5 feet above sea level in Hurricane country.

Shouldn't you be in your swimming trunks Rex ?

 

[The Great Oz]

I ask the customer if they want to know how soon they can put the carpeted areas back into use. Then we can have a discussion about where we should start cleaning/drying, and we can tell them the room we start in will be dry to the touch before we leave.

The rest can be covered most accurately once the tech sees the carpet, but the carpet should be dry in a few hours and we always tell people not to remove the protective pads for 24 hours just to be sure the carpet is dry under the furniture legs.

 

[rotovacguy]

Geez Rex, 100% humidity is 100%....I didn't know it went any higher.


I agree, we don't get it as long as you guys in Florida, but we get plenty of 90-100 degree days with near 100% humidity up here, and our winters......well, lets not go there.

Actually 100% humidity at 75 degrees is not the same as 100% humity at 98. This summer when your temps get to where you call it hot, pm me nd let me know what the dew point is. We can compare. :wink:

:mrgreen:

Not that I am really proud of being the one stupid enough to live in an area so freaking miserable so many months out of the year.


But on the other hand I am wearing shorts today.

Actually, Rex, when we get 75 degrees in summer, it's because a cool front came in from Canada, giving us fairly dry air.


I was in Florida this past summer, and quite honestly, it was a tad warmer, but the humidity wasn't really nothing I'm not already used to. Like I said before, we DO get those days where it's above 90, even 100, with 90+% humidity, just like you guys, just not as long. Heck, pretty much all of our warm fronts are dragged in from the Gulf, the land is pretty low and flat, not much to stop it.


But I will say, while on the beach in Daytona, the sight my eyes were seeing was WELL worth the miserable humidity! :shock:

 

[The Magician]

you people are taking too long to dry carpets. Switch over to FREE FLOW and get those carpets dry fast!!




Wink Wink
I like Larry's truthfullness: dry by bed time.
RW I know alot of people moving back to Oh. Their tired of being crazy and getting their roofs blown off.

 

[Rex Tyus]

But on the other hand I am wearing shorts today.

color coordinated with your CROCs, no doubt..... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


..L.T.A.

Grey and blue AE sweats white t-shirt with blue thread embroidery and Blue denium Sperry topsider shoes. 8)

Daytona is not in Florida. It is more South Florida. I am on the Gulf side. We manufacture humidity for the entire North American Continent. But keep me posted this summer. I was serious about my having a reference point. I try to check various zips on the weather channel to imagine a better life somewhere else in the summer. It gets really bad when in rentals with no electricity.

 

[joey895]

I generally tell people it will feel dry in about 4-6 hours depending on conditions but do not put furniture back or remove tabs until late that night or preferably the next morning because even though it feels dry to their hand there may still be some moisture that the heavy furniture will push up and cause a stain.

When I've cleaned my own home the carpet typically feels dry in in that 4-6 hour range but it's not moisture meter dry until about 8-12 hours.

Of course I havn't cleaned it since dumping the 2 jet wand and going to the greenhorn and I'm sure that'll make a big difference.

I have yet to have anyone complain about dry times. I think 24 hours is closer to their expectation.

 

[Ken Snow]

Dry by or before bedtime is what I've said for decades and now with faster drying methods I tell them a few hours but still to be safe don't put things back on it till the next morn.

 

[Brian R]

Jim Wrote

Its amazing what people will accept, isn't it?

Someone who hasn't been reading all the ads about fast dry times may have no idea.
In any industry the customer will believe what you tell them...unless completly skeptical all the time.
Just like buying cars...if you don't know the industry secrets, you will probably get screwed.
doesn't really apply to dry times screwing anyone or that it's a secret but there are other things that the customer has to take our word for.
IE: Safe chems, no residue, gauantees..sometimes, you name it.

 

[Farenheit251]

I did lots of testing a couple months ago in vacant rentals. I found that with my Greenhorn and anything much over 350 psi I was soaking the backing. The fiber was really good often feeling dry in 2 hours but would remain cool as the backing slowly wicked up. That may be OK but I was worried about occasional wicking and the wet dog smell that likes to come out in vacants. Extra dry strokes didn't seem to help the backing. I ended up moving the jets to skim the glide. I had been opposed to skimming the glide in theory as I thought it wouldn't clean well. But in real world testing I found a lot more water gets deeper than I would have thought.

 

[Chris A]

hmm.. the jets on my GH deflect off the glide, isn't that how they come "stock" or did you modify yours once before?

 

[Mike Draper]

Rex said....

But on the other hand I am wearing shorts today.

Damn you to HELLL!!!! I hate winter here!

 

[Greenie]

hmm.. the jets on my GH deflect off the glide, isn't that how they come "stock" or did you modify yours once before?

Actually Brian's is a retro-fitted Greenhorn "kit", so there a small chance there is some variance, it's probably not huge, as even a 1/16" up or down would change the jet manifold impact area.

There are reports of Greenhorn wand users swapping over from a spinner to the wand on a job or their own house and forgetting to turn down the pressure, with the FeatherTouch valve they didn't notice they were cleaning carpet at 1200 psi :shock: and it was still dry in a couple of hours... So there is hope for multi-truck companie that could use a little margin for error with their techs.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

I've noticed the same thing with the Greenhorn wand

Once our cleaning technician (yes, we still have a cleaning company) forgot to turn the pressure down after tile and grout cleaning. I checked on the jobs he did between the last tile job he did and the time I caught him.

The drying times were within the expected norms and the customer's had no complaints.