This is a question that we get asked from time to time, but yet, most consumers are not aware of carpet expansion and contraction rates during the cleaning process. Honestly, it’s something that most carpet cleaning companies do not bring up because it opens up room for concerning questions. Secondly, most untrained carpet cleaners probably do not even know about carpet expansion and contraction as they were trained improperly! Having said that, the question is, does carpet expand and contract during cleaning? The answer is, YES IT DOES! Let’s talk about it.

 

Backing Types

So I’ve been in the carpet cleaning industry for many years, also worked on the manufacturing side of the industry in designing carpet cleaning systems for the industry. My point, we have cleaned hundreds of homes and most carpet will expand and contract. Some carpet types are different than others. For example, berber carpet is different than a twisted fiber (heat-set polyester). The composition from which the fiber is made might be the same, but how the carpet is constructed is quite different. For example, berber carpet is what’s known as a loop fiber and is constructed differently than a twisted fiber frieze’ carpet. The difference is how the backing of the carpet is constructed and glued with a latex backing. Yes, there are other types of carpet as well, such as, blended and natural fiber carpet with natural fiber backing. For commercial buildings, there are synthetic carpet tiles and rolled commercial grade carpet that are backed with either latex or rubber. The bottom line, as mentioned above, no matter the type and style of carpet, they all expand and contract.

How The Process Works

Here’s how the carpet cleaning process works. The primary functions are heat, agitation and vacuum. Without these three steps, you do not have a cleaning process. First, the heat used to clean carpet is around 180 – 250 degrees and is pressurized at around 500 psi for agitation purposes. Next, either a carpet wand or rotary extractor is used to agitate, vacuum and clean the carpet. During this time, the heat used to clean the carpet, coupled with agitation and weight from the wand or rotary extractor, works into the carpet fiber, therefore causing the carpet to expand. The average rotary extractor weighs anywhere from 50 to 75 pounds! The weight alone is enough to cause some expansion.

Carpet Contraction

There good news is that carpet does contract back! Yes, the carpet, as it dries, will contract back to its original shape and form. It’s just like taking a shirt from the washing machine and then putting it into the dryer…same thing! On occasion, if you have an older carpet that is worn and the padding below is toast, then you could have some permanent buckling of the carpet backing. A proper carpet installation and good quality padding is what keeps the carpet rigid. Most of the time, if the carpet and padding are too far gone, then the carpet ripples were probably already there. At this point, you could re-stretch the carpet, but not recommended if the carpet and padding have already expired!

 

It’s Okay

THE BOTTOM LINE, residential or commercial, it doesn’t matter, cleaning carpet is perfectly safe and “will not” damage your carpet if installed properly! Having your carpet installed and stretched properly is “super important” and is the foundation to how long your carpet will last! If your carpet is older and is fairly worn, then having your carpet re-stretched before or after a cleaning will make your carpet last longer and look its best!