• How soiled it was before we cleaned (Less soil, less moisture needed: faster dry time)
• The thickness or thinness of your carpet (Less material, more air circulation: faster dry time)
• How ventilated the area is/How good the air movement is (More air/evaporation: faster dry time)
• Before we apply our cleansing foam via special carpet cleaning machines we do a great job of pre-treating “hot spots”. This breaks up the oil and sugar that makes soil sticky and gummy. We then use a Tony’s Best Way exclusive formula that softens up this impossible-to-vacuum soil embedded in your carpet or furniture. How much moisture we use depends on the condition of your carpet or furniture. The more soiled the item, the more moisture. The more moisture: the longer drying time.

Remember: we use a super low moisture content dry foam extraction method that already qualifys as low moisture. While that is true, also keep in mind we may have to re-clean heavily soiled areas up to 10 times more than we would do so otherwise. This, obviously, adds more moisture that will take longer to dry.

We do not clean for fast dry times. We assume your first priority is to have us clean your carpet and furniture with astoundingly clean results, even at the risk of them taking longer to dry. However, if you would like us to focus more on dry times, we will be HAPPY to accommodate.  We understand sometimes seniors and others cannot be away from their living spaces for even 6 hours. Just let us know and we will customize your cleaning!

Tips to Speed Up Dry Times:

• Keep the air temperature at 70 or above and the carpet/furniture will dry nicely. A house kept at 60 or under will hold moisture in, so it will take the carpet longer to dry.
• Do increase the air movement as much as possible. Leaving windows and doors open, keeping air conditioning or heating on, and using ceiling and/or portable fans all greatly speed up dry times. The more combinations of air movement the better!
• Use the drying time as an excuse to hit the beach or go to Pannikin’s for coffee and time with a good book!

Average carpets that go years without a thorough cleaning are unsanitary. It’s not that carpets are bad. Many people rip out their carpet and replace them with hard flooring only to discover dust never seemed more abundant. That is because carpets act as filters and they hold unhealthy things like:

• Dust mites & their feces (the food for germs, bacteria & mold)
• Dead skin particles
• Many types of bacteria
• Chemicals
• Auto fumes

These “atmospheric pollutants” are only some of the things that are potentially in “ripe” (very soiled) carpet. Whenever you step on ripe carpet or sit on that similarly ripe couch, clouds of atmospheric pollutants rise up. That’s not just dust!

It doesn’t just make you sneeze,  you actually inhale this mini air zoo! Small adults, children and pets (which are closer to the floor) are more affected by this bad R.A.P. (ripe atmospheric pollutant) scourge because, obviously, there noses are closer to this soup of pollutants.

Keeping your home’s carpets professionally cleaned on a regular schedule is actually a healthful practice. Air filters must be cleaned to be effective and your carpet may be the biggest air filter you have!

2. Make sure all hard surfaces (tile, wood, slate and marble) are cleaned daily or weekly. Pay close attention to the hard flooring in home entrances and kitchen and garage areas. This is important. You will not have clean carpets if your hard surfaces are filthy. To test these surfaces for soil, place a small amount of cleaner on a towel and wipe. This will show you what is being tracked onto your carpet. Tony’s Best Way offers professional stone, tile, slate and marble cleaning for annual or biannual cleanings. In the meantime, washing down outside areas with a power washer will help keep soil from building up.

3. Make sure no one uses outside shoes or bare feet on your carpet. Post a “no shoe tradition observed here” sign and offer guests slippers. Shoes track in a lot of soil -especially if they see asphalt regularly. Going barefoot means you are injecting body oil into carpets. Soil clings to oil and oil clings to carpet fibers. Body oil can permanently stain carpets if given enough time. Slippers or socks worn need to be worn at all times.

4. Place clean mats in entrance areas, around dressers, in bathrooms, and other heavily used areas. Tony recommends purchasing extras. Replace or clean mats as necessary.

5. Consider keeping pet accessible areas separated from carpeted areas. Dogs especially are very hard on carpet. This is a hard one if your pet is considered a family member, however dog fur contains a great deal of sticky body oil. When they lie down or even just shed, this oil will end up in your carpet. Of course pets that are not housebroken or who are sick can challenge your carpets cleanliness as well. Consider setting up barriers to carpeted areas if keeping your carpet cleaner longer is important to you.

6. Never use cheap carpet cleaners. And never ever use do-it-yourself carpet machines.  Do-it-yourself carpet machines are terrible on carpets. Tony says he can almost always tell which homes are subjected to such abuse. They sport black stripes down hallways and other highly-used areas. If you use a low cost cleaner or a do-it-yourself machines, insist on plain water being used. It certainly will not clean half as well (or last as long) as our method, but at least there will be less damage and no chance of sticky residue. Sticky soap residue left by underpaid and in-a-rush cheap cleaners will assuredly and severely shorten the life of your carpet investment.

7. Only use Tony’s Best Way instant carpet cleaner to get out everyday stains. Our formula is top notch. Many former San Diegan customers have called us and ordered bottles of it  because they can’t get its results anywhere else. Use of inferior products can set stains, change the chemical composition of stains (which make them harder to clean), and some even bleach carpet!

We hope that you will find these tips helpful and that you remember us at Tony’s Best Way when your carpet, rugs, furniture, hard floors and drapes are in need of powerful and through professional cleaning.