Encapsulation Carpet Cleaning

Carpet care is constant so any technology that helps add efficiency and reduces re-soiling is a winning addition to your line-up. Encapsulation carpet solutions use polymers to seek out the soils, coat them and then dry in tiny pellets that don’t adhere to the carpet fibers. The benefit of using encapsulation solutions is that they allow for soil removal through dry vacuuming long after the shampooing itself is done.

Here’s a basic outline of what you’ll need for the interim encapsulation cleaning of your carpets.

1. Prep

Prep your machine and supplies. You’ll need a low speed buffer or a rectangular orbital machine, some bonnets or a carpet brush, a bucket for mixing water and the shampoo (the bucket from your mop combo works great with a clean garbage can liner in it to prevent cross-contamination), a pump-up sprayer, wet floor signs, and your encapsulation solution. You may also use the Tornado Cylindrical Scrubber – the BR/13 with a soft brush. If you’re using bonnets, be sure to have at least 6 on hand to rotate them out as they become dirty.

2. Vacuum

Begin with a clean, vacuumed carpet. It’s best to vacuum right before you begin. Then, set up wet floor signs around the area you’ll be cleaning; a 10’ x 10’ area is best to begin with.

3. Machine

If you’re using a floor buffer/bonnet system, dunk the bonnets to moisten them in the bucket. You’ll moisten a bonnet, put it on your machine, mist the area to be cleaned with diluted encapsulation shampoo from your pump up sprayer, and run the bonnet on one side till it’s dirty. Then, flip the bonnet & use the other side. Once both sides are dirty, moisten a clean bonnet and repeat the process. Your bonnets can be washed & re-used; however, you won’t want to stop the job to do that on the spot in most cases.

4. Work into Carpet

It’s important to work the encapsulation solution into the carpet. Work in straight lines so you can clearly identify what areas have been cleaned & don’t be afraid to overlap your lines. With our Nilodor® Encapsulating Extraction Carpet Cleaner, you’ll encapsulate soils as well as add stain resistance to the carpet you’ve cleaned. You’ll save time as no rinsing is required; just be sure to follow dilution instructions carefully and vacuum up the encapsulated soils once the area is completely dry.

Want more details on carpet bonneting? Check out our "how-to" page on Carpet Bonnet Scrubbing.