Home centers, hardware stores, and other outlets are more than eager to rent you a machine to shampoo your own carpets. They tout how easy it is to do, how great it is to take back control of home maintenance and, especially, how much money you'll save by not hiring professional carpet cleaning services. It all sounds great, and if it worked as advertised, we would have been out of business a long time ago. But the thing is, it doesn't. And more than that, we've taken countless calls over the years from homeowners in need of help cleaning up the mess created by the "money saving" rental. Below we're going to look at one more reason not to fall for the rental hard sell: buckled carpeting.
Carpet Cleaning in Denver Requires an Expert Hand
Carpet cleaning is not the ultra-simple process the rental companies would have you believe it is. But they don't care either way, as long as your payment clears. If you've ever read the fine print on a carpet cleaning rental agreement, you'll see that they basically absolve themselves of all responsibility. So no matter what your carpet winds up looking like, you can't hold them responsible.
One of the most troubling consequences of using a rented carpet cleaning machine is buckling: ripples that sometimes extend from one side of the room to the other. How did they get there? And what can you do about them?
Why Did The Rental Machine Buckle My Carpet?
When it comes to shampooing, each type of carpet has different requirements. If you're not familiar with those requirements and your rental machine deposits too much water for your type of carpet, all that water will soak into the fibers causing them to swell. Once it does, there's nowhere for the now swollen carpet to go but up. So it raises from the floor looking like waves in a pond. Attempting to force the carpet back to flat with the machine can do permanent damage. And leaving a soaking wet carpet to dry can result in mold colonies and a permanent musty smell.
What to Do?
If the carpet is seriously buckled, it will probably need to be re-stretched. And good luck getting the rental company to pay for it. They'll just point to that subsection of the rental agreement fine print that says something like, "If you use too much water and your carpet buckles, you're on your own." Rather than relying on the rental company for help, you'll need to search for "carpet cleaning near me” or just call Steve’s Carpet Care. We’ll send someone out right away to remedy the situation.
In all likelihood, the carpet and pad will need to be pulled up and allowed to dry properly. And then the carpet will need to be re-stretched to make it fit again. With the excess being trimmed off around the edges. Keep in mind that if you delay in calling for help, the integrity of the carpet, the pad, and whatever flooring is under the pad may be jeopardized. In addition, those ripples may become creases, and then the carpet is ruined.
Other Possible Causes of Buckling Carpet
While we're on the subject of ripples in the carpet, let's take a quick look at some other possible causes.
- Dragging Things Across the Carpet - Wall to wall carpeting is not like a tile floor. Sure, it may look like nothing is going to move it, but many homeowners discover that's not the case. They want to rearrange the furniture, and instead of carrying it from place to place, they drag it across the carpeting and end up with ripples. They then have to call carpet laying or carpet cleaning services for help. If you’re alone, lifting and carrying the furniture from place to place is probably not an option. So wait until you can muster up some help before rearranging the furniture.
- The Wrong Type of Pad - Contrary to popular belief, not all carpet pads are created equal. Nor are all carpet pads compatible with all types of carpeting. While carpet cleaning in Denver, we've seen just about everything. And sorry to say, we've seen instances where carpet installers in a hurry have placed whatever pad they had available under the carpeting. Some of these pads simply aren't dense enough to support certain types of carpeting. As a result, the extra play in the carpet eventually turns into ripples. And then the carpet has to be pulled up, a proper pad laid under it, and the carpeting re-stretched.
- Delamination - The carpet is typically attached to the backing using a latex adhesive. Sometimes a manufacturing defect can cause the carpet to separate from the backing in a process called delamination. Delamination can also occur if too much water is used while shampooing. Once delamination occurs, the carpet is susceptible to ripples and buckles.
The Bottom Line
If your carpet needs cleaning, take a pass on the rental machines and call Steve's carpet cleaning services. Our truck-mounted steam cleaning system uses very little water and reaches right down to the root of the pile to remove every last dust mite and grain of dirt. Our highly trained technicians know exactly how to clean every type of carpeting and will always leave your carpets looking like new. That's Steve's Carpet Care
at (303) 530-4900. Call today.