What Temperature Should the Water Be in a Carpet Cleaner?
- By Victor Nugent
- Published 12/25/2011
- Home Management
- Unrated
We all know that cold water is not as efficient in dissolving substances, as is hot water. Cleaning is actually a chemical process where the physical properties of a substance is transformed from one state or condition to a different one, in order to make it easier to manage or extract the soiling agent..The chemical reaction is accelerated when the temperature is elevated.
In this case, for carpet cleaning what we actually want to do, or manage, is to create a condition where we make it easier to remove dirt or soil from our carpet.
The best way to do this is to make it soluble, that is, to turn it into a liquid, so that we can suck it out of the carpet easily. There are many methods we can use to do this. Once we dissolve or emulsify the soil that is affixed to the carpet fibers, it is relatively easy to extract it with a vacuum system. Most people prefer to apply some sort of chemical or cleaning agent, but some people prefer to use hot water or steam alone.
Personally, I prefer to use a chemical, because I find that is the most effective way of getting soils into solution or to form a suspension or emulsion.
In any case, it is always easier to clean with hot water, than with cold water. The best cleaning temperature range is between 120 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is easy to get the water hot enough when using a truck mounted ma
chine with an on board heat exchanger. However, due to the temperature drop experienced because of the time lapse, and the distance from the truck to the carpet, the water must leave the truck at a temperature of 220 to 250 degrees F in order to achieve optimum temperature at the carpet surface.
150 degrees F is the temperature level that I find to be most practical. It is hot enough to be effective with most carpet cleaning solvents, but not so hot that it will damage some carpet fibers or create a personal burn hazard.
When I first started cleaning carpets, I would go to the store and rent a portable carpet cleaner. I would then add "soap" and proceed to attempt to clean the carpet. As you can imagine, the results were not too impressive.
I soon learned that I need to heat the water in the carpet cleaning machine. So I did that and had much better results.
The problem though, was that the water temperature decreased fairly rapidly during cleaning, especially during winter, and of course, cleaning efficiency decreased proportionally. It would become much harder to get the carpet clean, and I would have to try to compensate, by using more concentrated or different chemicals, agitating the carpet fibers more vigorously, or waiting longer to extract the cleaning solution.
Carpet cleaning is most efficient and effective when you can use a machine that comes with a heat-exchanger that allows you to set and control the water temperature at optimum levels.
In this case, for carpet cleaning what we actually want to do, or manage, is to create a condition where we make it easier to remove dirt or soil from our carpet.
The best way to do this is to make it soluble, that is, to turn it into a liquid, so that we can suck it out of the carpet easily. There are many methods we can use to do this. Once we dissolve or emulsify the soil that is affixed to the carpet fibers, it is relatively easy to extract it with a vacuum system. Most people prefer to apply some sort of chemical or cleaning agent, but some people prefer to use hot water or steam alone.
Personally, I prefer to use a chemical, because I find that is the most effective way of getting soils into solution or to form a suspension or emulsion.
In any case, it is always easier to clean with hot water, than with cold water. The best cleaning temperature range is between 120 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is easy to get the water hot enough when using a truck mounted ma
150 degrees F is the temperature level that I find to be most practical. It is hot enough to be effective with most carpet cleaning solvents, but not so hot that it will damage some carpet fibers or create a personal burn hazard.
When I first started cleaning carpets, I would go to the store and rent a portable carpet cleaner. I would then add "soap" and proceed to attempt to clean the carpet. As you can imagine, the results were not too impressive.
I soon learned that I need to heat the water in the carpet cleaning machine. So I did that and had much better results.
The problem though, was that the water temperature decreased fairly rapidly during cleaning, especially during winter, and of course, cleaning efficiency decreased proportionally. It would become much harder to get the carpet clean, and I would have to try to compensate, by using more concentrated or different chemicals, agitating the carpet fibers more vigorously, or waiting longer to extract the cleaning solution.
Carpet cleaning is most efficient and effective when you can use a machine that comes with a heat-exchanger that allows you to set and control the water temperature at optimum levels.
Victor Nugent
Graduate of the University of London (U.C.W.I.) with majors in Chemistry, Zoology & Botany, and many years experience as Chief Chemist at an Alumina processing plant, and later Chief Executive Officer at a Citrus juice processing facility in Jamaica. Currently Owner & President of AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. in Utah For further information, visit our website at AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc.
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