Re: steam cleaners, Ozone caveats

[Guest guest]

Barb,

There is another concern with the use of steam vapor on some carpets. The high

temperature could damage the " heat set. "

According to the Carpet and Rug institute web site

(http://www.carpet-rug.org/residential-customers/resources/carpet-terms.cfm):

Heat Setting is " the process that sets the twist by heat or steam, enabling

yarns to hold their twist over time. Important in cut pile carpet. Most nylon,

olefin and polyester cut pile carpets are heat-set. "

This means that steam vapor treatment could affect the appearance of some

carpets. That's why I always recommend trying the treatment on a non-obvious

area first.

The same is true for ozone. This gas is a powerful oxidizing agent and it could

affect the color of dyes in carpets.

For most folks with environmental sensitivities, they have only one choice with

an old carpet: get rid of it. Steam vapor or ozone treatment offer other

options.

The carpet color or heat set may be altered, but if the treatment permits

continued use, then the treatment might be worthwhile.

Of course, if the carpet is not your own, you have to think twice about what you

are doing.

" Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips "

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> I get a cloudy haze on some areas of hardwood if I don't move vapor steam fast

enough so I know what you are referring to. I've taken some white vinegar and

gotten them up but they don't wipe up easily, have to rub so I try not to stay

too long. >

>> >

> > If you treat a carpet that is over a hardwood floor, the steam could fog the

wood finish, just the way a cold drink fogs the varnish on a dining room table.

> >

> > If you plan to treat an area rug that is on a wood floor, support the rug

off the floor when treating it. (You can use a drying rack for this if the rug

is small, or saw horses if it is larger.)

> >

> > " Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips "

> > May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Jeff,

Am I to assume your tips on steam vapor are better for treating

than for cleaning? My understanding is hot water extraction is

best for cleaning carpet and upholstery because there is a

quantity of liquid inserted into the carpet which is then extracted,

bringing dirt with it. Steam has no real quantity of liquid, which is

it's strength for treating without wetting.

The heat won't be sufficient to kill or denature, as you've clearly

stated before, so would steam vapor treatment be useful after

cleaning? You're more familiar with steam than I am so I may not

understand it sufficiently.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

-----

Barb,

There is another concern with the use of steam vapor on some carpets. The high

temperature could damage the " heat set. "

According to the Carpet and Rug institute web site (

http://www.carpet-rug.org/residential-customers/resources/ carpet-terms.cfm):

Heat Setting is " the process that sets the twist by heat or steam, enabling

yarns to hold their twist over time. Important in cut pile carpet. Most nylon,

olefin and polyester cut pile carpets are heat-set. "

This means that steam vapor treatment could affect the appearance of some

carpets. That's why I always recommend trying the treatment on a non-obvious

area first.

The same is true for ozone. This gas is a powerful oxidizing agent and it could

affect the color of dyes in carpets.

For most folks with environmental sensitivities, they have only one choice with

an old carpet: get rid of it. Steam vapor or ozone treatment offer other

options.

The carpet color or heat set may be altered, but if the treatment permits

continued use, then the treatment might be worthwhile.

Of course, if the carpet is not your own, you have to think twice about what you

are doing.

" Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips "

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> I get a cloudy haze on some areas of hardwood if I don't move vapor steam fast

enough so I know what you are referring to. I've taken some white vinegar and

gotten them up but they don't wipe up easily, have to rub so I try not to stay

too long. >

>> >

> > If you treat a carpet that is over a hardwood floor, the steam could fog the

wood finish, just the way a cold drink fogs the varnish on a dining room table.

> >

> > If you plan to treat an area rug that is on a wood floor, support the rug

off the floor when treating it. (You can use a drying rack for this if the rug

is small, or saw horses if it is larger.)

> >

> > " Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips "

> > May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

> >

> >

>

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[Guest guest]

Carl,

There's not an easy answer to your first question.

For most folks, carpet cleaning means getting rid of stains (color

discrepencies). Liquid water can do this by making the borders of the stains

fuzzy and running them into each other.

With more water and vacuum extraction (traditional steam cleaning), soluble

stain components and particles are both removed. But if the allergens are

soluble and not entirely removed, they are left behind to coat the remaining

dust particles, creating surogate allergens.

I purchased a new, runner for a hallway. The carpet store had a policy of

allowing return within a week if the custormer is not satisfied. Whenever I

walked on the rug, I coughed so I took a dust sample. The rug was full of dog

dander (someone before me had obviously taken advantage of their return policy).

The store took the rug back and offered to have it professionally washed. I

returned to check out the still-wrapped rug but was bothered by the remaining

dust in it.

So I think that very thorough HEPA vacuuming should remove somewhat more than

half the dust from a carpet; I don't know what the figure is for traditional

steam cleaning, but from the looks of the water that comes out of carpets,

plenty of dirt is removed.

As for getting rid of " stains " (patterened discoloration stuck on the fibers) I

am not sure how much of this can be accomplished with just steam, perhaps

someone who has used it for this purpose can comment. The brushes on the steam

tool and the small amount of liquid on them would probably " dilute " the

discolorations, and if a cloth is placed over the brush, more of the stain (if

souble) will be removed and transferred to the cloth.

I think that cleaning upholstery and carpet are different because of the

thickness of the material involved. Millions of square feet of commercial carpet

are probably " steam cleaned " every day, mostly without harm (when done

professionally). It's just that there is a finite risk each time that some part

of the carpet or pad will stay wet too long.

Upholstery can be much thicker and there is more of a danger of lingering

moisture.

So for carpets, if they must stay in place, I would try thorough vacuuming

(50-100 passes!) first, then treatment with steam vapor (if their heat set is

not affected). If the stains remain, traditional steam cleaning might be worth a

try. Just be certain that the carpet dries within 24 hours!

For area rugs, a great way to get rid of dust is to blow compressed air through

them. This is much more effective than vacuuming since the suction power of a

vacuum diminishes rapidly with distance through the fibers. Obviously, blowing

must be done outside.

There are some companies (I have only heard of them) that have special cleaning

heads so that the air can be spread out over an area larger than a simple

nozzle. This procedure can get rid of nearly all of the trapped dust (but again

not the stains on the fibers).

I don't know why someone doesn't offer such a cleaning service for rugs, with a

truck-mounted compressor and air tanks.

Another caveat has to do with wool rugs. Wool fibers fragment and produce

respirable fragments that can cause eye irritation and coughing. For reasons I

do not understand, some wool rugs produce very few such particles and others

produce millions of these with every step.

I have photos of this phenomenon in the MGH talk I did on my home page or at

<http://www.mayindoorair.com/presentations/mgh-0309.pdf> on the fifth page.

The quickest way to tell if carpt bioaerosol is a problem is to cover the

carpet temporarily with carpet protector (www.pro-tect.com); I never leave home

without a roll. The quickest way to tell if a rug is a problem is to remove it.

" Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips "

May Indoor Air Investigations LLC

>

> Jeff,

>

> Am I to assume your tips on steam vapor are better for treating

> than for cleaning? My understanding is hot water extraction is

> best for cleaning carpet and upholstery because there is a

> quantity of liquid inserted into the carpet which is then extracted,

> bringing dirt with it. Steam has no real quantity of liquid, which is

> it's strength for treating without wetting.

>

> The heat won't be sufficient to kill or denature, as you've clearly

> stated before, so would steam vapor treatment be useful after

> cleaning? You're more familiar with steam than I am so I may not

> understand it sufficiently.

>

> Carl Grimes

> Healthy Habitats LLC

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jeff, I had 100% wall to wall wool carpet and it was very old, probably 40 years

old, in home when I moved in. Previous owner did not have pets, and was one of

those people who removed shoes, etc, so despite its age it looked like new, but

always had this 'fuzz' on top. She called it new carpet fuzz but carpet was far

from new. When I vaccumed, vacuum bag would fill up with fibers, yet there was

plenty more to come up next time also, so it was constantly 'shedding'. It was

very plush and thick. I figured that's why it always looked new, because it was

constantly shedding top layer, but perhaps fibers were so old, they were

breaking. I bought an Oreck for about a week and had to return it because it

was constantly getting clogged with carpet fibers. When I vaccumed it, there

was an odor. I thought it was my old vaccum, because carpet looked so clean,

but finally got down on hands and knees and stuck my nose in carpet. Odor was

definately coming from carpet. I removed all of it, which was entire first

floor of house. After seeing the condition of the old horse hair pad under it,

think the smell was coming from that instead of carpet, but now that carpet is

gone, my vaccum cleaner bags last forever, so regardless of kind of carpet, alot

of what comes up into vac bag is not dirt but carpet fibers, because I vaccum

wood floors first (because I have pets) and the vacuum bag always look like

nothing at all was collected, so most carpets must shed, but some more than

other, certainly my wool carpet was shedding alot.

On other note, I have area rugs that are also 100% wool and they do not shed

MUCH but they do shed some. They are alot less plush and more tightly woven. I

don't know if that is why but sticking my nose down in them, they don't smell so

good either, inherited them, so they will need to go shortly also. Right now

covering up a floor problem w company here, so as soon as I find something else

to cover up wood floor area in need of repair, they will go too.

Upstairs in all bedrooms an equally old carpet I believe but a synthetic

material and they don't smell so perhaps wool, being a natural fiber, despite

looking great, probably degrades faster than a synthetic fiber, so you may have

the drawback of chemicals if you go synthetic but natural fibers have drawbacks

too. Wool or natural fibers probably support bacteria better than synthetics and

need to be replaced even if they still look good after some years of use,

certainly way before 40. It was looked very clean and was beautiful when I

pulled it up and threw it away. I think very expensive and was amazing it

looked so good.

>

> Carl,

>

> There's not an easy answer to your first question.

>

> For most folks, carpet cleaning means getting rid of stains (color

discrepencies). Liquid water can do this by making the borders of the stains

fuzzy and running them into each other.

>

>