Cleaning carpets in commercial environments is always a challenge. It needs to be done, but it can be difficult to find the time and resources to adequately clean.

There are several carpet cleaning options, ranging from daily cleaning to interim cleaning to restorative cleaning.

Daily cleaning options, like vacuuming, should be done as frequently as possible. These procedures require little to no down time and are fairly simple. However, they don’t provide the cleaning power to really improve the appearance of a carpet that has been soiled or worn.

Restorative procedures, namely extraction cleaning, provide the best boost to a carpet’s appearance, but it requires a large amount of downtime due to the long dry times associated with restorative cleaning. It can be a hassle to have to shut down an entire area overnight or for long periods of time.

Traditional interim cleaning methods like bonnet cleaning provide a boost in appearance but can have more setbacks than benefits. Bonnet cleaning provides little actual cleaning power, but rather pushes soils around to make the surface appear clean, while beneath the surface there is still a considerable amount of dirt. It can also leave a residue that attracts dirt and makes the carpet re-soil faster.

Fortunately, there is a new and different method of interim carpet cleaning that is becoming more popular due to its numerous benefits over all different types of carpet cleaning methods.

Encapsulation cleaning is a fast-drying, low-moisture carpet cleaning method that cleans and deodorizes carpet effectively with leaving a soil-attracting residue and without the need for extensive periods of downtime.

Encapsulation cleaning works by using a polymer to surround (encapsulate) dirt particles and release them from the carpet fibers. The polymers then dry, leaving a brittle residue that is easily vacuumed up, leaving a clean a fresh carpet. This is all done with very little water, meaning downtime is greatly reduced.

Multi-Clean’s ECO₂ (Encapsulating Cleaner with O₂xygen) combines this encapsulating polymer technology with no-residue detergents and hydrogen peroxide to clean and deodorize carpet with great results.

The encapsulating polymer surrounds soils and releases them from the carpet, with the help of no-residue detergents. Meanwhile, the hydrogen peroxide allows for color-safe bleaching of any stains present and also destroys odors deep within the carpet to leave the carpet looking and smelling fresh and clean.

The ECO₂ process is simple:

1. Vacuum up any loose soils to make cleaning easier.
2. Apply diluted ECO₂ (1:10) using a pump-up sprayer. Approximate coverage is 800-1000 sq. ft. per gallon.
3. Let the cleaner dwell and work for 5 minutes.
4. Agitate the area using a carpet brush, a conventional floor machine, or for best results, a counter-rotating brush machine. Just be sure to equip the machines with soft nylon brushes that are made for carpet.
5. Let the carpet dry and open up to normal service. The floor can be vacuumed in its normal schedule to remove the encapsulated soils.

Rather than let your carpet get heavily soiled before performing an inconvenient extraction process, using an encapsulation cleaning program can greatly prolong the life of your carpet and the time spent in between extractions, all while using a simple and convenient procedure with little downtime.

For more information on ECO₂ and our full line of carpet care products, visit our Carpet Care webpage.