Heat vs. No Heat

Say it is 3:00am and I'm cleaning the nasty carpet at the Chinese Buffet place at about 240-250F.  I put the wand to that really greasy area in front of the kitchen/beverage area and pull the trigger. Guess what happens to the grease area? . I love doing that to dirt!

That is a very good question, High Heat vs Extreme High Heat, I've been pondering that question for many years. As a matter of fact, every morning when I wake and have my morning first cup of Java ( coffee ) that very question come to mind, and I am reminded of it with every sip. As all carpet cleaners should know, this question is very complex and we, as certified cleaning technicians from IICRC are all aware that when liquids evaporate they become gases, and these gases formed are called vapours. The vapour pressure of a liquid increases as the temperature increases and the dependance of vapour pressure on temperature follows the Clausius-Clapeyron equation ............in P2 = AH ( 1 - 1 )                                                

                             P1 = R   ( T1 - T2 )  This relationship assumes that an ideal gas forms as the liquid evaporates, but yields good results  with many substances. I'm sure we all remember that water is a very usuful liquid. At freezing water is less dense than liquid water thus  ICE FLOATS. Also water has a High Heat capacity, therefore pouring boiling water on someones hands has severe consequences, but by comparison, when metallic leads  is heated to melting, the molten lead can ( under controlled circumstances ) be poured on someones hands without causing burning. We all can agree that water is POLAR, and as a result it is a very good solvent plus water forms hydrogen bonds and enhances the effectiveness as a solvent

YES, I would have to say extreme heat, if not for anything else, it keeps you warm on those cold winter jobs, and when hot vapour shoots out of those little jets at the tip of the wand the customer is happy like a pig in sh*t thinking you're actually destroying all those little critters in her carpet. And for my next trick, mam, I'm going to Scotchgard your carpet with super teflon, anti soiling, flame retarding, urine resistant, bullet-proof, watered down, super diluted to nothing, carpet protector. And this will only cost you 10 cents a square foot extra because I'm a professional certified IICRC member, complete with a card and everything, see I'll show you.    ooops......forgot to renew.

    Jack From Montreal      aka NIGHTRIDER

We would love to hear from both carpet and upholstery cleaners as to the preference of heat or no heat. Or should I say high heat or extreme heat.

It's interesting that most portable machines we sell to our customers opt out of inline heaters. Although once they have tried heat they wonder why they have not had it for years.