An old tale indeed…Often new clients tell me that their carpet salesman (or a friend) told them not to clean their carpeting until you absolutely have to. “Once you clean your carpeting, it will get dirty faster,” they say.
The truth is – Prior to the invention of steam cleaning carpets were generally shampooed only. Since there was no rinsing of the carpet during this process; eventually dirt would cling to the old residue left behind in the carpet. So there was some merit to the myth up until they perfected the old shampoo detergents with dry foam detergents; which significantly reduced the residue problem.
Even though rinsing is part of the cleaning process there are some inexpensive cleaning agents on the market that (when improperly used) can leave a sticky residue in the carpet after cleaning. However most of these cleaning agents are associated with rental machines.
Provided that a carpet is being cleaned with professional (non-residual) cleaning agents and being completely rinsed, re-soiling (caused by detergent residue) will never be a problem.
With respect to carpet salesmen; there are also two other facts to bear in mind: Carpeting that is not cleaned will have to be replaced sooner. Maintaining carpet properly can double its life.
Are these the reasons some carpet sales people are passing out this very bad advice? “The sooner people ruin their carpeting, the sooner they’ll buy more,” seems to be their rationale.
FYI: Dan’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning only uses the least residual cleaning agents available and after being rinsed there is virtually zero cleaning agents left behind. We also stay informed regarding new detergent quality and performance…just in case something better comes along.