We get asked this particular questioncquite often:
"What is that dark grey to black stuff that is in my carpet under the doors and around the walls?"
The answer is: It's filtration soiling.
So what exactly is this very ugly soil that can make an otherwise really clean
carpet look bad?
To put it simply, filtration soiling is soil that is being pushed OUT of the room towards areas that are open to free air movement.
Basically the dirty air is being forced out of the room because of extra air pressure.
And this means this soil is moving towards walls that are not sealed well, and allow air to flow through them, and to the bottom of doors
where airflow occurs.
This "dirty air" is then filtered by the carpet, hence the name filtration soiling.
So what kind of dirty air is this?
Well, this can be any type of dirty air; but typically it is air that has smoke in it from cigarettes or cooking or just your average dust.
A lot of this soil is very small in size, very fine particles.
Can Anything Be Done About Filtration Soiling?
Yes, filtration soiling can be dealt with quite effectively.
While filtration soiling can be difficult to deal with it can also be removed from most carpets totally or, at the minimum, much of it can be removed.
If you have a white carpet then completely removing all visible signs of filtration soiling can be tough, but it can be done. Just not in all cases.
What To Do About Filtration Soiling
Some filtration soil is normal. The air in your home is usually not perfectly clean. But if you have moderate to severe filtration soiling then there is probably an issue with your HVAC system.
You should make sure your filters are clean and working properly and maybe even have a HVAC company take a look at your system.
Filtration soiling, severe filtration soiling, only occurs for four reasons:
The air is fairly dirty. The air is being filtered by the carpet, so if the air is dirty you can going to see the carpet filter the dirty air and the soil remains in the carpet.
That air is moving towards areas that allow free airflow
and that airflow is being pushed by pressure towards those areas.
The carpets have not been cleaned for a long time and over the
years the filtration soiling just builds up.
A combination of the first three.
After you have made sure your HVAC system is working properly you should then check to see if the edges of the room are allowing air to flow between the walls and the floor.
Many times air is flowing between the wall and the floor between the tackless strip and the wall.
One fix for this is to use a foam sealant and to put that sealant between the tackless strip and the base of the wall. This will greatly reduce the airflow through that area and help with reducing filtration soiling.
One of the really common areas to see filtration soiling is under doors, and this can be really difficult to prevent if you are intent on keeping the door to those rooms closed on a regular basis.
With the door closed the most natural area for the air to move is under the door. The carpet fibers then filter that air and you can end up with some really ugly filtration soil.
If you do not want any filtration soil under doors then keep those doors
open.
Of course always having doors to certain rooms open is not practical, so if you want to avoid filtration soiling under doors you need to make sure your HVAC system is working really well.
Even then, if you keep the doors to certain rooms closed all of the time,
you are probably going to end up with some filtration soiling under the door.
How To Remove Filtration Soiling In Carpet
Very Common Filtration Soil Under Doors
And Results We Usually Get
The components of filtration soiling can have a lot of greasy elements to it,
so many times using "regular cleaning methods" just doesn't work very well.
At Linton's Carpet Cleaning we have developed techniques to clean filtration
soiling with great success. As you can see in the pictures we were able to remove some fairly heavy filtration soiling that occurred under doors.
To be totally honest it is easier to clean filtration soiling under doors,
than against baseboards, but only for one reason.
The filtration soiling under doors is the exact same type of soil that you see along the edges of the walls, but the big issue is how aggressive you can be with the cleaning.
When cleaning filtration soiling under doors you can be super aggressive
because there are no baseboards to deal with. With filtration soiling against the walls you cannot be quite as aggresive because you do not want
to cause any damage to the baseboards.
At Linton's Carpet Cleaning we have great success in cleaning filtration
soiling along walls, next to air vents, and under doors. Each situation is
different and we adjust accordingly.
Is there an extra charge for cleaning filtration soiling?
The simple answer is: Maybe.
Very minor filtration soiling under a door is probably not going to cause
an extra charge.
Minor to moderate filtration soiling along walls is probably going to cause
an extra charge because of the time (mainly with having to be super careful
with the baseboards) but not all of the time.
If there is just a small area of filtration soiling against the walls then there might not be an extra charge, but if the filtration soiling is along the entire wall, or along all of the walls, then we can guarantee there will be an extra charge.
Heavy filtration soiling along walls is almost always going to end up leading
to an increased charge because of the aggressiveness that needs to be used
in cleaning the filtration and the caution (usually meaning moving slowly) in
not damaging baseboards.
Our goal at Linton's Carpet Cleaning is to get the filtration soiling out of
your carpet and not damage your baseboards! To do this, it takes some extra
time - and me might charge for that.
This is also another reason why it is so important to have a carpet cleaning
company come to your home, or place of business, and give you a FREE QUOTE on any carpet cleaning you need done.
Filtration soiling, especially along walls, can take a lot of time to properly
and safely get out. And in most cases, time is money.
If you have any other questions about filtration soiling please feel free to
contact us and we'll help you out in any way we can. If you would like to
schedule a FREE NO OBLIGATION QUOTE then please give us a call.
Thank you for reading this article, we hope to hear from you soon.
Linton's Carpet Cleaning
Filtration Soil Removal In Vancouver, Wa.
If you have filtration soil in your carpet and want it out - there is not a better carpet cleaning company in Vancouver, Washington than Linton's Carpet Cleaning at removing filtration soiling.
We will be more than happy to come to your home and take a look at the issue and give you a FREE WRITTEN QUOTE ON any filtration soil removal you need done.