Why You Should Hire Professional Upholstery and Carpet Cleaners in Seminole County, FL?

From our observations and our own experience in Seminole County we know that the biggest difficulty for beginners in the cleaning industry is recognizing a given material and choosing the right cleaning agents. The point here is not to know the trade names of individual upholstery materials and their properties. There are infinite names like that! The point is to know the basic types and kinds of fabrics or fibers, to be able to recognize them and know what their characteristics are. This chapter will be helpful in acquiring knowledge about raw materials and textile products used in upholstery and carpet production. We will discuss the topic from general to specific, and we will start with the division of fibers.

How a carpet performs in the home depends on many things: carpet construction, yarn construction, type of installation, quality and frequency of maintenance, type of padding used and the type of fiber used. Each fiber has different characteristics that do not change with changing carpet styles. How fiber repels or attracts different soils and stains affects cleaning results.

How durable the fabric is also relates to construction and how it is used. Material differs from carpet in thickness, type of backing and durability.

Fibers are divided into three main categories:

1. Natural – derived from plants or animals.
   • Protein – Wool, Silk
   • Cellulosic – Cotton, Jute
2. Synthetic – derived from petrochemicals.
   • Olefin/Polypropylene
   • Polyester/PET
   • Acrylic
   • Triexta/Corterra PTT
3. Man-made – according to the Federal Trade Commission, this category is manufactured fiber from regenerated cellulose. (Pure like cotton)
   • Rayon/Viscose (Big problem for cleaners)
   • Acetate – acetate fiber/artificial silk

Natural and synthetic fibers differ in their ability to absorb moisture. Natural fibers have a high absorbency rate, while synthetic materials have a low absorbency rate. This affects how fibers are dyed and their susceptibility to staining. An additional problem is drying time.

Natural fiber normally takes longer to dry.

Wool

Wool is obtained from sheep’s wool.

Characteristics:

• Oldest fiber used in carpets and rugs
• Naturally resilient
• Good abrasion resistance
• Easy to dye
• Cleans well with recommended solutions pH 4.5-8.5
• Natural soil resistance, easily releases dirt
• Natural protective membrane repels moisture
• Natural fire resistance

Hazards:

• pH above 8.5 can damage outer layer (cuticle)
• Chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) dissolves wool
• Stains are very difficult to remove
• Bleeding – color migration and stretching very popular
• Aggressive brush scrubbing can damage cuticle
• Expensive
• Temperature above 158°F can damage fiber

Wool is expensive, luxurious and sets the standard for all rugs. Using appropriate agents, it can be safely cleaned using gentle detergents (Wool Safe), preferably with moderate heat/recommended quick drying. Too high pH can cause permanent damage to the fibers, burning, and color migration. Wool fibers are very hygroscopic, which means they have the ability to absorb and retain a significant amount of moisture. Therefore, when washing wool upholstery or carpet, try not to soak the cleaned surface, because it may have a problem with drying later. Natural fibers take longer to dry than synthetic ones, especially in humid climates like Lake Mary or Sanford. Use only as much water as necessary. Extract as much water as possible by making dry extraction passes with the cleaning wand, which will shorten the drying time of the carpet. The water temperature should not exceed 158°F, because a higher temperature can damage the fibers. Soft brush, wool does not like too much friction. Finally, comb the fibers in the right direction.

Silk

Silk carpets are sometimes called flying carpets because they are very thin and delicate. A real silk carpet can be folded almost like fabric. Silk is always cool, just stroke the carpet with your hand to see this, you can rub it in the same place for a long time and it will still be cool. Silk carpets have a fantastic shine, satin, golden, inimitable. The result of the burning test should be a very distinct smell of burnt hair, the burnt fragment should be completely rubable in the fingers, creating dark ash. Silk carpets can be confused with carpets made of mercerized cotton and viscose. However, by following the above tips you will be able to recognize real silk without fail.

Characteristics:

• Obtained from silkworm
• Most luxurious fiber
• Soft to the touch

Hazards:

• Yellowing with age – does not remove after cleaning
• Soils easily
• Texture very easily distorts – clean in one direction
• Damaged by high alkalinity and perspiration (Adult human perspiration is acidic, and its pH usually ranges from 4.5-6)
• Rayon/viscose is used as a cheap alternative
• Silk should only be cleaned by experienced technicians. It must be cleaned with gentle solutions (neutral to acidic) must be wet evenly and only in the direction of the pile.

Silk cleaning should be approached with the utmost gentleness. We put the extraction machine aside. Only manual cleaning is possible here. We vacuum the carpet dry, preferably using a bristle attachment. A column vacuum cleaner with an electric brush is prohibited here. We always work in the direction of the bristles, we do not move against the grain. Dry cleaning is recommended for cleaning silk, particularly for valuable pieces commonly found in homes throughout Sanford and nearby areas.

Cellulosic Fibers – Cotton and Linen

Cotton – the world’s most popular fiber.

Characteristics:

• Easy to dye
• Pleasant to the touch (tactile softness)
• Often blended with other fibers

Concerns:

• Easy browning
• Shrinkage
• Stains easily

Linen – comes from flax stem.

Characteristics:

Natural linen ranges in color from light cream to dark brown.

Concerns:

• Easy browning
• Shrinkage
• Stains easily
• Resistance worse than cotton, becomes brittle with age
• Poor abrasion resistance, especially around edges
• Darkens when wet, becomes lighter when dry

LINEN should be cleaned like cotton, paying special attention to edges which may contain weak yarns.

Artificial fibers from natural polymers

Rayon – the first man-made artificial fiber. It was designed to replace silk. Fabrics and carpets labeled as art silk are really artificial silk. First produced in USA in 1910. Also called viscose.

Viscose fibers are made from wood or cotton cellulose that has undergone appropriate processing in the production process. Simply put, viscose is a mixture of cellulose and chemicals. Some of the most beautiful and valuable rugs on the market are rugs made of natural silk. They are soft to the touch, slightly shiny and absolutely luxurious. But with all this luxury comes a price that puts them out of reach for most of us. Viscose is used as a cheaper alternative to real silk. Although I think a more accurate term would be a “fake” of real silk. Viscose fibers are very weak, you could say that they are basically paper. Viscose is primarily used to make rugs but we can find also sofas made from this fabric.

Cellulosic fibers can be more difficult to clean due to their absorbency and their tendency to shrink and brown. The key is using lower pH products and fewer wetting agents/detergent for rinsing. Before cleaning natural fibers, perform a colorfastness test using the most alkaline product you will use. Also a burn test will tell you if you have cellulose, protein, synthetic or fiber blend. This way you’ll select the appropriate method and chemistry that will be safest to use. Don’t guess, unless you want to decorate your home with furniture and carpets from your clients.

Artificial Synthetic Fibers

The growth of the world’s population, the reduction of agricultural and breeding areas and, as a result, the constantly growing demand in industry have influenced the production of synthetic fibers. Synthetic fibers are those that are made from synthetically produced materials through chemical reactions (they do not occur in nature). During everyday work, in 90% of cases we deal with synthetic fibers. Currently, the vast majority of customers have ordinary synthetics at home, including many homes in Seminole County and surrounding communities. This applies to both furniture upholstery and carpets or rugs. Synthetics are easier to clean, because in most cases we can use agents with a higher pH (alkalines). They are more resistant to mechanical action, i.e. scrubbing.

The most important synthetic fibers include:

Polyamide (nylon) PA – Polyamide fibers are obtained from coal, crude oil or natural gas. Polyamide fibers include nylon, which is the first synthetically produced fiber. PA fibers also include Perlon, Kapron, Stilon, Rilsan. Nylon fibers are characterized by very high tensile strength, are highly resistant to high temperatures and have particularly good abrasion resistance. Polyamide fibers are the most hygroscopic of all synthetic fibers. PA fibers are very easy to dye, especially with acid dyes.

Polyester PS – Polyester fibers are characterized by good mechanical properties. They are resistant to abrasion, but much less than polyamide. Fibers shrink under the influence of elevated temperatures. They have the greatest light resistance of all fibers.

Polypropylene PP – Polypropylene has low hygroscopicity and practically does not absorb water. It is one of the cheapest raw materials on the market. PP fibers are difficult to dye, and patterns cannot be printed on. PP is not resistant to very high temperatures.

Acrylic, aniline PAN – These fibers do not have great resistance to friction and abrasion, but still more than wool. They can resemble wool, being soft, elastic and flexible. Excellent resistance to sunlight. Resistant to most acids, weak bases and organic solvents.

Mixed fibers – In the production process of textile materials or carpets, fibers that are a combination of several types of materials are often used. This can be a combination of synthetic fibers with natural ones, such as wool with acrylic or synthetic with synthetic, such as polypropylene with polyamide. The aim is to obtain a product that combines the advantages of all the fibers used. Professional cleaning services in Seminole County often encounter these mixed fiber combinations, requiring specialized knowledge for proper care.