SANITIZE...... IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO SO IN CARPET CLEANING?

This is one of those Yes you can No you can't topic's.  I put this out to the Brain Trust for discussion seeking a different perspective from my own. So, let's hear it!

Yes you can sanitize. You can not did disinfect. You can how ever apply a disinfectant to the carpet.

san·i·tize
ˈsaniˌtīz/
verb
make clean and hygienic.


You can do that when cleaning carpet right?

You can't sterilize carpets, but I do believe that you can sanitize the contact areas of the carpet.

Just like when doing laundry, you can't sterilize fabrics with your washing machine as they will not get hot enough (water heater set at safe level) and even then, there are virus strains that can withstand boiling water for hours and still survive. Bleaching would help, but the concentration would have to be high enough that it would damage the fabrics in the process. That is one of the reasons you should never wash your underwear with your bath towels...not many people realize this actually.

When you are cleaning carpets with hot water extraction, you are introducing a high heat water (180-220 degrees) along with physical agitation and a cleaning agent which can break down and eliminate most forms of bacteria and viruses in the fibers.

What you can not really do is sanitize the backing or the pad beneath it, so you have to be realistic about your claims of sanitizing the carpet. The upper fibers (area people will be in contact with) will be highly sanitized...albeit not completely.

So, you are correct in saying that it is both a "yes" and "no" answer and it is made even more complicated depending on you cleaning method, temps., chemicals. speed, dwell, etc.

Personally, I do not agree with claims that an encap will sanitize by its mechanism, but if it is peroxide-based then maybe it would be effective enough to make the claim....again, depending upon concentration.

What a customer should realize is that although you cannot sterilize the carpet, you are removing more than just soil. You are removing all the dead skin cells (people shed over 8 lbs. a year of it), dust mites, rodent feces, most bacteria and viruses, pollen, and mold spores. So, it WILL make for a healthier home and improve the air quality within the structure.

My 2 cents...

According to my IICRC carpet cleaning instructor, sanitizing is achievable through hot water extraction with carpet cleaning detergents, however I'm inclined to agree with Robert, it depends on the water temperatures and such.

Positive feed back for Rob, for an in depth explanation and reasoning. I enjoyed that script. Thanks

Yeah it will be sanitized until somebody walks on the carpet 

Thew short answer is no it can't be totally sanitized (in a reasonable way, without many hours of work for a larger area let say.), and the reason why we just remove and replace carpet that's been subjected to a "Category 3" flood loss.

I'll leave it at that for now, because this could go on and on n on n lol, and of course there's always an exception.   

Great explanations,  I also agree with Rob. If you can make contact with the bacteria then a level of sanitation can be achieved. There are several products available for topical applications containing Phenol's,Qac's, Clo2, as well as Anti Microbial Silanes. I do believe in the very near future coated Carpet fibers will be manufactured resistant to bacteria, it's proven in the textile area now. It could be called Rocket Science, the weekend launch of supplies to the space station included Work Out Clothes that are coated to resist bacteria. So it won't be long! Thanks for the responses.