Almost all residential carpets are installed with some type of pad underneath. The pad provides a cushion to the carpeted surface so that it feels soft and comfortable when you and your family members walk, stand or lounge on it. More importantly, the pad absorbs the weight and impact of foot traffic and furniture, which helps prolong the life of the carpet.
Once carpeting is installed, the pad is no longer visible and most homeowners don't think much about it. But it's important to know that a carpet pad is made of foam rubber or a similar sponge-like material.
For absorbing weight and impact, a sponge-like pad is great. But what else is a sponge great at absorbing? That's right…water and liquids. Just like the sponge in your kitchen, a carpet pad can absorb many times its weight in fluid.
How does this relate to Carpet Cleaning?
Traditional carpet cleaning methods use shampoos and/or chemicals which require a prolonged rinse and extraction process. This involves soaking the carpet with hot water and then attempting to extract the moisture out of the carpet.
However, carpet fibers cannot hold much moisture, so the bulk of the rinse goes straight through the carpet and into the foam pad beneath it. The foam pad, now acting as a sponge, absorbs the excess water and becomes saturated.
Once water gets into the carpet pad, it is very slow to dry. After all, the pad gets minimal air circulation because it is sandwiched between the hard floor surface below it and the carpet above it. Even if the carpet itself begins to feel dry, a saturated pad can remain wet for days.
How does this Invite Trouble?
A saturated carpet pad can begin growing mold and mildew in as little as 48 to 72 hours. Members of the fungi family, mold and mildew thrive on porous materials that remain damp and unventilated. To compound matters, it is very difficult to eradicate mold and mildew from porous materials, like the spongy carpet pad. Mold and mildew are living organisms, and once they start to grow they can spread quickly.
Even when a contaminated carpet pad eventually dries, the mold and mildew will remain a problem. In addition to a lingering musty smell, toxic spores get into the air that you and your family breathe. This can trigger breathing ailments, particular in infants and children, the elderly, and those with allergies, asthma, or other respiratory conditions.
Needless to say, it is best to avoid soaking the carpet pad in the first place. Fortunately, the carpet technicians at Zerorez Atlanta use a state-of-the-art cleaning wand. This patented wand has six high-efficiency jets that allow our patented shampoo-free cleaning agent to penetrate down to the base of the carpet fibers, but not into the carpet pad.
Equally important, our extraction wand is specially designed to boost water recovery performance. Compared to other wands in use today, the Zerorez carpet wand leaves 50% less residual moisture per square yard. This means your carpet will dry in a few hours, not several days.
Don't invite trouble with mold or mildew, contact Zerorez at (770) 242-1313. We'll clean your carpet the right way. Satisfaction guaranteed!
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