Exceptional Carpet Cleaning and Floorcare is one of the industries leaders in quality rug cleaning. We have invested in extensive training and equipment to ensure that your rugs are cleaned safely, gently and thoroughly. Our company has been trained by the most prestigious and costly training system in the United States, The Master Rug Cleaner Program. This extensive course takes an entire year to complete and only a handful of cleaners around the world are able to attend. "Why is all of that necessary to clean a rug?" Most carpeting is made from a synthetic fiber such as nylon, olefin or polyester. These fibers are not very absorbent and can be cleaned with a variety of cleaners safely and effectively. You can even put bleach on olefin carpet and it will not harm it. Rugs may be made out of these same fibers, but often times, fine rugs are are made of natural fibers such as wool, silk and cotton. If you applied bleach to these materials, they may completely disintegrate! These fibers have some wonderful qualities such as longevity, luxurious feel and appearance but need to be treated carefully to ensure they add beauty to your home for many years to come. They absorb more soil and water than synthetic fibers. This is wonderful for the air quality in your home as they hold soil and allergens, improving the air quality in your home. It also makes them more difficult to clean and takes longer to dry than synthetic fiber rugs. "Why cant you clean my rugs in my home?" The answer is simple. In order to test your rugs for color fastness, extract all the dry soil (called dusting), thoroughly clean the rug while removing embedded contaminants and thoroughly dry the rug takes a lot of equipment, space and time. 10 days to 2 weeks is the usual time to accomplish these procedures. Some franchised carpet cleaning companies will perform in-home rug cleaning resulting in damage to the wood or stained concrete floor underneath. Since wool can hold more than 50 percent of its weight in water, drying can take 3 days or longer. Cleaners must have a low ph and if not treated with a dye-lock product, color bleeding can ruin a beautiful rug. In addition, silk rugs need to be hand brushed thoroughly to restore the soft hand or feel of the rug. 70-80 percent of the rugs we clean contain spills or pet accidents. These contaminants can make the dye unstable and be very difficult to remove the odor. Our cleaning methods have been used successfully for over 100 years and we are proud to be a company that carries on these ancient Armenian traditions in quality rug cleaning. How we clean rugs If your rug is made of synthetic fiber and does not contain pet odors we can safely and effectively clean your rug in your home at a fraction of the price of in-plant cleaning. If your rug is made of a natural fiber such as wool, silk or cotton, we will measure your rug, provide you with a cost estimate then bring it to our rug cleaning plant for a safe and extensive cleaning. Our process is as follows: Inspection and measuring - This initial process is necessary to look for damage from moths or pets, prior cleanings, spills etc. that may require additional treatment and could determine what method of cleaning will be used to clean your rug in the safest yet most thorough way possible. Some rugs require additional dye-lock treatment, odor treatment, etc. to give you the best results possible. We take photographs of both sides of your rug to document the appearance of the rug before the cleaning begins. Testing - In this process, we test every color for color fastness with the cleaner we are going to use. This process is done overnight to ensure the cleaners are safe for your rug. We also examine your rug under an intense low-length UV blacklight for pet urine. Please be aware that urine left in a wool or silk rug can cause the dyes to become unstable and bleed. We take every precaution to prevent or correct this, but in some cases it can be inevitable. In this case, we will advise you of the situation and obtain your permission to continue. Dusting - Dusting is the process of removing embedded dry soils from your area rug. Wool rugs were used in the middle east to hold moisture and add humidity to the dry air as well as hold large amounts of sand the was tracked in the living quarters. Every year or two it is necessary to remove the dry soil from your rugs. Our grandmothers (or great grandmothers!) would hang their rugs over a fence or clothesline and beat the dry soil out of them. We use a much more effective tool to do this. It is a large machine that puts out 40,000 harmonic vibrations per second to safely, but thoroughly, remove the deep embedded soil. We often can fill a gallon bag with the sediment from just one rug! Vacuuming - Although self-explanatory, we thoroughly vacuum your rug with a commercial quality vacuum with a HEPA filter to finish removing any leftover dry soil in your rug. Dry soil can act as sandpaper, causing damage to your rug’s fiber or backing. This can result in premature wear and damage to your rug. Pre-treatment - This process is used for rugs that may require additional treatments. This would include treatment for pet odor, color bleeding, crocking and stain removal. This process can take a couple of days to allow your rug to soak in the various treatments for complete saturation and effectiveness. Washing - Next your rug is most often immersed in a large pit of fresh water and thoroughly but gently scrubbed with a counter rotating brush machine that gently works the cleaning agents and deodorizers in and the soils loose. Rinsing - Once your rug has been thoroughly cleaned, it is time to rinse it with a fresh water rinse. The wash pit has a series of water jets that gently rinse out the detergents and contaminants from your rug. Specially made rug squeegees and rug rollers are also used to force out more contaminants and allow the fresh water to more effectively rinse your rug. Once your rug rinses completely clear, the water is drained and excess water is extracted from your rug using the vacuum from our truck mounted cleaning equipment. Drying - Once your rug has been dusted, washed and thoroughly rinsed, it is hung on a drying rack and high speed airmovers are used to dry your rugs from the top side and underneath. The room is heated and dehumidifiers keep the room dry in order to speed up the drying process. Special meters are used to ensure the rug is thoroughly dry before the rug is removed from the drying room. Fringe Detailing - Once your rug is dry, the fringe is hand detailed, cleaned again and groomed. If color bleeds onto the fringe or browning occurs, special gentle whiteners are carefully put on the fringe then rinsed thoroughly to prevent any damage to the fringe. Grooming - Grooming is brushing all the fibers to ensure they are all upright and laying in the right direction. This removes any indentations or pile reversal that may have occurred during the cleaning process. This is actually done twice, once before drying and again afterwards. This also softens the nap of the rug, making it supple, ready for you to enjoy in your home. Delivery and Placement - Your rug is then carefully rolled and delivered back to your home and put in place.(Furniture moving can affect the price) Quality Wunder-Grip Rug Pads are available at an additional cost. They are made to the size of your rug and prevents the rug from moving and provides a cushion for your rug preventing wear on your rug’s backing. If your rug is extremely delicate or not structurally sound, we will choose a less aggressive cleaning method. We are trained to clean in a variety of ways including dry cleaning and shampoo to give every rug a fresh new look! Call today and let a Master Certified Rug Cleaner make your rugs fresh, clean, soft and ready to provide years of beauty and elegance to your home.