What are the steps that I can expect a certified professional to take when cleaning my carpet?

The principles of carpet cleaning are listed in the S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning, last published by the IICRC in 2002. The principles of carpet cleaning include: Dry Soil Removal - thorough vacuuming using an upright vacuum with brush agitation and high-efficiency double-lined collection bag, or a final filter, to remove up to 99% of particles at 1 micron. Soil Suspension - This involves the application of properly specified, formulated and mixed preconditioning agents designed to separate soil from fibers. There are four fundamentals involved in soil suspension: application of preconditioning chemicals; using heat or temperature to speed chemical reactions; agitation for proper chemical distribution, and providing dwell time so that chemical reactions can be completed before soil extraction is attempted. The acronym "CHAT" makes the fundamentals of soil suspension easy to remember. Soil Extraction - Any method of cleaning must physically remove so ... more