Teflon not applied
This report was done for the homeowner.
TYPE LOCATION: Residential
METHOD: Stretch-In
CUSHION: 1/2-Inch Rebond 6.5 Lb./Cu. Ft.
SUBFLOOR: Concrete on the First Level, Plywood on the Second
AREA INSTALLED: Livingroom, Stairs, Hallway, & 4- Bedrooms
USE & MAINTENANCE STATISTICS AT THE TIME OF THE INSPECTION
LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: Yes
ADULTS: 2 - CHILDREN: 2 - PET(S): -1
DO THEY SMOKE? No
SPOTTING AGENTS: Just Water
TEMPERATURE: 66.5°F - 19.1° C RH 53%
VACUUM TYPE: Upright
VACUUM FREQUENCY: Weekly & More
ENTRY-MATS: Yes
SOIL: See Report
HEATING TYPE: Forced Air Gas
COOLING TYPE: Central - Electric
CLEANING: Professionally
METHOD: Truckmount Steam
TYPE OF CHEMICAL: See Report
TREATMENTS APPLIED: TeflonŽ
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS REPORT
Assess the work done by the carpet cleaning company mentioned above for
compliance to industry standards and the application of a TeflonŽ treatment.
SITE CONDITIONS & GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
This is a freestanding, owner-occupied, 3,200 square foot; two-story house, built
sometime in the 60s along with other similar dwellings in a residential subdivision. This
home was neat and orderly; the condition of the house appeared to be very good. This
subdivision was located approximately 30 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION MADE TO THE INSPECTOR
This carpet had been selected as part of the moving in process. A few years after
moving in, part of the carpet had been cleaned by ChemDry™ and showed no problems.
The last cleaning by the company mention above was performed to remove general soiling and
spots.
When the cleaning technicians entered this home, they reportedly doubled the price of the
cleaning because the carpet's yarn was stain resist nylon by DuPont and would require
brushing and reapplication of the Teflon. Just before the cleaning, a telephone discussion
took place between DuPont, the commissioner of this report, and the cleaning technicians.
There were disagreements about the cleaning procedures between the cleaning technicians
and DuPont. Reportedly, the cleaning technicians wanted to use a brush on the carpet and
DuPont disapproved.
The cleaner reportedly made an appeal to this consumer to have additional services
performed. These services included 1.) applying TeflonŽ to the carpet & upholstery
2.) cleaning a sectional sofa, 3.) cleaning some area rugs, and 4.) additional carpet
cleaning in other rooms that that all the carpet would look the same. It was this
homeowner's understanding that the carpet was to be pre-vacuumed, but reportedly, the
cleaners said that the power of their truckmounted carpet-cleaning machine eliminates the
need for pre-vacuuming. Therefore, they did not pre-vacuum.
Reportedly, it was two or three days later before the carpet dried. Within a few weeks,
some of the spots returned. The sofa and area rugs did not appear to be as clean as they
potentially could be. Reportedly, the cleaning company has been reluctant to return phone
calls or revisit the job.
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM AREA BY THIS INSPECTOR
In the livingroom, two spots that reportedly had returned were immediately noticeable.
These spots were somewhat round with irregular edges. They were darker than the
surrounding carpet and the discoloration was primarily at the tips of the yarns. There was
a tacky feel to these spots.
In the family room, similar spots reportedly from food accidents were also noticed. The
sectional sofa was also in this room, and appeared to be slightly dingy.
The area rugs that were reportedly clean were located in the entrance to the kitchen. They
too, had several spots similar to the appearance of the other spots and had a dull
appearance indicative of soil.
ON-LOCATION FIELD TESTING
An ultra-violet light was used to draw a reflection from substances with
fluorescent dyes. Yellow reflections will come from most urine stains while blue or
lavender reflections will come from inappropriate detergents. The results of this test
revealed that there were no reflections.
Numerous moisture tests were performed using a Delmhorst Moisture Sensor that would
indicate the presence of moisture locked-up in the same compounds mentioned above, but the
test revealed that there were no moisture readings either.
Numerous pH tests were taken using a digital type pH meter with a low moisture probe that
made direct contact with the faceyarns. All tests were made using distilled water with a
pH of 7.0. The test revealed readings between 6.3 to 6.8 in both spotted and non-spotted
areas, indicating no improper chemical residue.
A test using Scotchgard Carpet Protector Test Kit, model SPS-3001, was used to determine
if fluorochemical soil protectant was present. This test consists of placing oil that
comes with the test kit on the yarns using an eyedropper to see if the oil will soak-in or
bead. The results of this test revealed that the oil soaked into the yarn. Neither did the
sofa pass this test, but it did bead water instead.
THE ISSUE
The questions that I have been asked to address are:
1. Has the carpet been cleaned according to industry standards?
2. Is the Teflon protecting in a manner indicative of its performance?
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING THE ISSUE
The Standard for Carpet Cleaning S001-1997 is the standard for carpet cleaning and is
published by the INSTITUTE OF INSPECTIONS, CLEANING and RESTORATION CERTIFICATION. This
standard is for professional cleaning and is recognized by nearly all carpet mills and
carpet cleaning associations.
Guidelines for cleaning upholstery have been determined by the IICRC, and is called the
IICRC S300 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Upholstery Cleaning.
INDUSTRY STANDARDS & DEFINITIONS
According to the STANDARD FOR CARPET CLEANING S001 - 1997, concerning What Should
Consumers Expect from a Professional Cleaning Job? it says this:
g. Special attention to spots and stains must be included in normal job
performance. However, time-consuming specialized spotting of substantial quantities of
spilled materials or prolonged effort on color added spots may incur an additional charge.
Customers should be advised of additional charges before extensive spotting procedures are
undertaken.
h. Special treatment with preconditioning agents in heavily soiled entry and traffic areas
should be included in the cost of normal cleaning. However, overall job cost may increase
in extreme soiling situations.
3. Consumers should be advised of the need for such increased charges in advance.
i. With the consumer's cooperation, the cleaner is responsible for ensuring that the
carpet is dried and returned to normal use within a reasonable time frame. The amount of
time required for drying will vary with different methods, the degree of soiling, and the
aggressiveness of cleaning. However, under no circumstances should carpet drying require
more than 24 hours with proper ventilation, Again, the consumer's cooperation in providing
continuous airflow and/or ventilation to expedite drying cannot be overemphasized.
j. Every effort must be made to physically remove as much soil as possible from carpet
during cleaning. Further, technicians must take steps to leave fibers as residue-free as
possible to prevent accelerated resoiling.
According to the STANDARD FOR CARPET CLEANING S001 - 1997, concerning STEAM CLEANING and
Dry Vacuuming it says this:
7.1 Dry Vacuuming (ref. Section E, point 1, p.9) - Removal of particle soil buildup is
essential prior to cleaning agent application.
According to the STANDARD FOR CARPET CLEANING S001 - 1997, concerning STEAM CLEANING it
says this 27:
7.0 STEAM CLEANING (HOT WATER EXTRACTION) METHOD: The "steam" cleaning method
can be used on virtually any natural or synthetic carpet.
Proper use includes:
7.3 Chemical Action (ref. Section E, point 2, a, p. 11): - Chemical action may be
accomplished in one of two ways:
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7.4 Pre-Conditioning - In heavy soiling situations, a pre-conditioner that may contain
solvents for emulsifying oily soils must be applied to entry, pivot and high traffic areas
prior to the application of the steam cleaning method. For stain-resist carpet, this
pre-conditioner must be anionic, non-ionic or combinations thereof, and have a pH of 10 or
less. For wool carpet this pre-conditioner must range in pH from 5.5 to 8. Dilute
pre-conditioners containing dry solvent additives must not contribute appreciable
quantities of VOC's (volatile organic compounds) to air within the structure.
Pre-conditions may be applied through hand-pump, electric, or venturi feed sprayers.
Product manufacturer's directions relating to the quantity of pre-conditioning agent
applied to a specified number of square feet of carpet must be followed.
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7.11 Drying (ref. Section E, point 5, p. 13) - Complete drying will be accomplished within
1-24 hours (depending on soiling conditions and ambient humidity). When multiple pass
cleaning is required on heavily soiled carpet, and especially when post-cleaning additives
are applied to carpet following "steam" cleaning, longer unassisted drying times
(12-24 hours) may be anticipated. Therefore, technicians must consider procedures to
expedite drying and thus to avoid problems associated with overwetting. Overwriting, or
prolonged drying, may result from operator error.
THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS
According to the S001 Carpet Cleaning Standard, there are five recognized methods of
cleaning carpet. The use of a truckmounted machine is acceptable for this type of carpet.
Although stain resist nylon is very common to residential installation, there are no
grounds known to this inspector on doubling the price for cleaning this type of fiber. The
use of a brush is acceptable according to the standard, reference section 7.4). Charging
extra for brushing the carpet is not an acceptable practice (reference section, g &
h).
Different studies on the composition of soil have shown that 74 to 79 percent of soil can
and will be removed by pre-vacuuming alone. The type of soil removed by dry vacuuming is
referred to as 'particulate' soil which is composed of sand, clay, dried skin, and
cellulosic materials. The most powerful truckmounted carpet cleaning machines are not
designed to remove this type of soil through their wet extraction process. When steam
extractors try to achieve a desirable level of cleaning without proper pre-vacuuming,
prolonged drying is likely to occur. Thus, this part of the background information fits
the anticipated results of what was reported.
Teflon and Scotchgard are classified as 'fluorochemical' treatments in the carpet
industry. It is typical for either one of these products to be applied to new carpet by
manufacturing. In addition, it is a common practice of the carpet cleaning industry to
reapply either one of these products or a similar product after the carpet has been
cleaned several times. The purpose of fluorochemical treatment is to repel oil and thus
resist soil. Oil is only a small percentage of the composition of soil, but it acts like
the glue that bonds some of the particulate soil to the fiber. When a fluorochemical
treatment is properly in place, the yarns will bead oil in the same way that it would bead
on a TeflonŽ frying pan. This carpet failed to do that therefore this indicates that the
TeflonŽ was not properly applied. The water beading on the upholstery could be indicative
of another type of protectant such as solvent base silicone. It is unknown on whether this
was the result of the cleaner's application or a manufacturing treatment.
CONCLUSION
From a professional opinion based upon background information, observations, and
field-testing done at the time of the inspection,
1. The carpet in question has not been properly cleaned based upon the reports of no
prevacuuming and prolonged drying time.
2. The Teflon protectant has likely not been applied or applied properly.
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