Rug / Upholstery Cleaning FAQ

Water is by far the best and healthiest cleaning method. Prior to modern in plant cleaning, all rugs were washed in the river. It is important however to dry the rug quickly, which is what we achieve in our speed-drying room.

Can my area rugs be cleaned in a day or two?

In-plant cleaning is the best and most through cleaning possible. It includes:

• Running your rug through a duster to dislodge and remove the sand and dust particles, deeply embedded inside your rug;
• Then your rug will be hand shampooed with brushes and a delicate wool cleaning product;
• This is followed by many clear water rinses (just simple, pure cold water) and each rinse cycle includes a ringer that squeezes all the water out of your rug. We keep rinsing the rug till the water that comes out of it is completely clean;
• Next your rug will be brushed by hand to restore the nap; and
• The rug is placed in a speed drying room.
• Last but not least-Once the rug is 100% dry, it is taken down and thoroughly inspected. If we reach a conclusion (rarely) that it will benefit from another cleaning, it will be cleaned again at no extra charge.

This thorough and detailed process normally takes seven to ten business days.

Some owners do not want their rugs to be taken away or prefer a more economical cleaning. And some canvass backed rugs are not made to be plant cleaned. However, it is important that you know that on location rug cleaning is a compromise. As the necessary heavy dusting, shampooing, deep flushing, rinsing of the rug and the cleaning of fringes cannot be done on location.

If you choose on location cleaning, we’ll use a “Green Seal” certified and “Wool Safe” cleaning product. We’ll take our time and provide you with the best on location cleaning results possible.

Your rug cannot be cleaned directly on your wood floor or any water sensitive surface. If it does not have a pad, you can buy a plastic sheet and put it there yourself prior to our cleaning (save money). Or we’ll provide you with a 9×12 plastic sheet at $19.00 (we will only move small sturdy furniture.)

Not all rugs can be cleaned on location.

Urine soaks the fibers as well as the rug’s foundation. Once dry, it changes from an acid into an alkaline salt which water alone will not dissolve. The urine salts need first to be dissolved completely flushed out and then deodorized. That cannot be accomplished at your home.

Not unlike a diaper, just deodorizing is far from enough, it needs to be washed free of contaminants. Unfortunately, urine can permanently stain the rug’s fibers and cause dye bleeding if left too long. Specialty treatment like urine soak and deodorizing will add to the cleaning cost.

You are right to be concerned about who comes into your home. Expert Clean & Green is a family-owned business. Click About Us if you’d like to know and see who will work for you. And we’ll be happy to provide you with as many references as you wish to check.

Even more so than carpet, upholstery cleaning requires more knowledge, expertise, patience and attention to detail. A good cleaning will remove soil, allergens and dust and will make it a healthier spend time onIt will also extend the life of your sofa

Waiting till it looks like it “really” needs it, may mean that permanent damage has already been done.

Typical dry time varies between 3-6 hours depending on the fabric, level of soiling and the weather. We recommend that if it is safe to do so and weather permits, that you leave a window open, it will dry faster. You could also use a fan to blow across the piece, or turn on your air conditioning on after cleaning. It will greatly reduce drying time.

In ours and most experts’ opinion, almost all fabrics can be wet cleaned. It is the only method that actually rinses the fabric, leaving it both clean and healthy for you. And since you may spend hours on your sofa, reading, resting or watching T.V. it is essential that it will be as pristine as possible.

Dry cleaners are refined paint thinners. They are highly toxic and unfortunately do not clean worth a dime. The other “dry” method is by using shampoo foam that is lathered on the fabric and vacuumed later. This method is like a shampoo that is not rinsed out of hair; it will leave a sticky residue that attracts dirt. In our opinion, the cleaning effectiveness of both “dry” methods is so poor that we stopped offering them. As we do not consider the end results to justify the word “clean”.

We routinely (a couple of thousands in this stage of our career) clean “S” labeled sofas with hot water extraction. It is the only method that both cleans and rinses the fabric thoroughly.

Yes, if:

1. The sofa is valuable and particularly for natural or light colored fabrics.
2. You understand that Teflon does not make a fabric stain proof. It helps it repel liquids; gives you a better chance of being able to successfully remove spills when they happen and gives the professional cleaner a better chance of success when trying to remove spots. Stain proof, however, it is not.
3. You understand that Teflon is a coating: It may slightly alter the “feel” of the fabric and depending on how much the piece is used, it will wear off.

Our Upholstery fabric protector provides the most advanced technology in polymer protection and soil resistance. Designed specifically for upholstered fabrics and the soils and spills most common to them. It uses proprietary flexible polymers.  Unlike conventional carpet protectors, whose surface tension breaks down when someone sits on upholstery, ours stretch with the fabric, maintaining the highest level of protection.

It is water based and does not use dangerous solvents in the breathing zone of your home or business. It also contains special dye locking and color stabilization additives, making it safe to use on even the most delicate, natural upholstery fabrics. It is designed to spread consistently and evenly across the entire fabric thus providing more uniform protection.

We wish we could. Unfortunately success depends on many factors. To name a few: What caused the odor, what material is the sofa made of, how long it has been exposed to it and did the substance penetrate the cushioning material?

Unlike the common misconception, deodorizing is not adding a scent (perfume) to the cleaning solution. That’s called masking and it’s the equivalent of spritzing on perfume while a shower is needed. Just ask any French queen or king that lived prior to the revolution and they’ll tell you- It doesn’t work.

Deodorizing is the process of removing the odor source and then neutralizing the odor molecules. There are various methods to accomplish it applying different principles, like encapsulating, pairing, oxidizing and natural digestive enzymes. We even carry fragrance free deodorizers.

Pet urine is completely different, as in addition to the odor issue there is also potential yellowing, weakening of the fabric and dye damage. Success again depends on various factors and the extent of the damage.

What we can offer you is realistic assessment and an honest educated opinion.

We truly wish we could. Unfortunately some stains are permanent. Bleach and acne medication will strip dyes, and some cough medicine, markers and inks will leave permanent color.

While trying to remove stains inexperienced cleaners may cause permanent stains and or irreversible damage.  Knowing when it’s safe to try to remove a stain can be the difference between a beautiful looking sofa and permanent damage.