By: Glen Wilson

12 July 2024

There is more to steam cleaning a carpet that simply plugging in the steam cleaner and dragging the wand over the surface. One of the most, if not the most important thing, is the correct use of supplementary cleaning products to enable release and extraction of those myriad annoying stains that can be seen in almost all carpets. The selection and cautious use of these cleaning products is key to a fantastic job that will justify your charges.

Acknowledgement

A special thank you to a friend of Fenix, the late Tamas Tassonyi because it’s thanks to this great Fenix legend that we have learned so much very good advice on the way to clean carpet like a pro.

Pre-spraying

It is in Fenix standard operating procedure that pre-spraying carpet compulsory on all Fenix jobs. It is not a given that all steam cleaning operators do this. Key reasons we always pre-spray include:

• It allows us to directly target stains and soiled areas with the pre-spray shampoo
• It leaves a better smell after the job
• It provides a good opportunity to identify any areas in the carpet for special attention during the later steam cleaning

Prespray Unit

Blind Testing

This phrase may hold a different meaning to different industries but in the business of steam cleaning it means testing the chemicals in your bag of tricks out of obvious view.  Always test the carpet in a cupboard or behind a door to make sure there is no reaction or colour changes before attending to a stain in full view. Please also note that the stronger chemicals will need 3-5 mins to see if there’s any reaction.

Carry Bucket

Please organise a carry bucket with your chemicals to take around with you when you steam.

Carry Bucket with Key Steam Cleaning Products

Compulsory Cleaning Products for a Fenix Steam Cleaning Job

The main ingredient in a steam cleaning job is the shampoo. For a shampoo we use “Exit” or “Tannax” or other shampoos that is able to be used on all types of carpet, including wool. The shampoo is used to pre-spray and spot clean basic traffic marks and stains.

To release grease stains, we use “G-Solve” or “Grease Release” which is also great for the removal of chewing gum, paint, grease, ink, nail polish, paint removal, etc.  This product are compulsory to maximise blemish removal.

To release proteins and acids we use “Amsolve” which is fantastic for the removal of protein, blood, orange juice, wine, soft drinks, chocolate, milk, most food stains, and even vomit.

To removal the common brown colour caused by moisture or dampness – often found near doors or windows – we use the product called “Browning”.

For the removal coffee, urine, and red wine stains we use the product called “Coffee Break”.

For the removal of rust areas or rust stains we use the product called “Acid Wash” or “Un Duz It”.

As a final note, it’s much better to use a soft brush on the carpet even if we use the hard end to separate chewing gum stains, etc. It’s better than trying to use the wand to separate the carpet fibres.

Key Steam Cleaning Products

Keep an eye out for future blogs where we will discuss steam cleaning of upholstery as well as performing deodorising and fumigation.

WITH THE RIGHT BUCKET OF CLEANING PRODUCTS AS WELL A DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO USE THEM FOR BEST EFFECT, AN AVERAGE STEAM CLEANING JOB CAN BE TURNED INTO A BREATHTAKING JOB WITH LITTLE EXTRA TIME REQUIRED ONSITE.