by Sandra Gillhouse

Created on: February 17, 2009   Last Updated: February 20, 2009

I've had some happy experience having my carpets cleaned with the radical encapsulated methods of cleaning carpets. It seems to work best with those tight fiber carpets that are so hard to dig in and root out deep stains. It was early in the birth years of the method. I was told it was used mostly for office carpet cleaning, but this company was offering it on an experimental basis to residential.

We moved into our home in the early fall and by spring I had begun to notice some mysterious stains appear in the center of the living room floor. My initial suspicion that these old stains were from old padding proved to be true. A new carpet had been lain on old stains hence the rising ghost stains I saw. An industrial home carpet cleaning by me failed to remove the stains so I sought a professional cleaning company. And it was then I was introduced to the magic of encapsulated cleaning.

Encapsulation uses detergent like the typical industrial cleaners, however the main difference is in the crystal polymers, which act as a second oomph on the dirt in your carpets. After the detergents have broken up and separated the dirt from the carpet fibers the crystal polymers in encapsulated chemicals can emulsify and lift. An added bonus of the encapsulated method is reduced heat, which can sometimes loosen and break fibers in your carpet weakening both stain resistance and color.

I did some research on the safety of the chemicals before hand and while some attribute carpet cleaning chemicals to Kawasaki disease it has yet been a proven link to encapsulated chemical cleaning of carpets. The expense was only a slight more than the traditional cleaning but seemed well worth the money so I gave the nod and I was pleasantly pleased with the outcome.

My carpets smelled cleaner, felt genuinely soft to the touch, unlike industrial home cleaning that often leaves residue. My carpets retained resilience to stain and appeared to retain their original colors even the shaded fibers mixed with the light. Furthermore, upon inspection the stains from the padding had disappeared as well.

Encapsulated methods have finally become a mainstay with our cleaning company. Having passed the rigorous residential experiments, stains from pets, wine, children and ground in dirt that a home well lived in will require attention to. I was amazed with the results and would recommend a good encapsulated cleaning at least yearly.

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