[Westway]

can anyone tell me what drying times they quote to their customers. other carpet cleaners in my area quote anything from immediatly to 3 hours - I use hot water extraction and it does usually take a few hours. are the ones that say the carpets are left dry just misleading people or am i doing something wrong??

[Mike_Boxall]

Hi
Drying times are very difficult to state accurately as it depends on a number of factors including carpet type, humidity, ventilation, type of cleaning process and individual technique. For example, a wool carpet cleaned on a hot summers day with the windows open and cleaned with a bonnet mop is likely to be dried by the time you've written the bill! I do think, however, that because drying times are so important to customers, there are carpet cleaners out there who tend to err on the side of optimism!
Turbo dryers can often make a big difference if you dont already use them!

[Derek]

Your competitors may also be using a low moisture system i.e. Bonnet or Dry Powder.

As Mike has already said the use of turbo dryers certainly help in reducing drying times also you should look carefully at your cleaning technique.

Do you pre-vacuum?
Do you allow the chemical sufficient time to work?
Do you introduce some form of mechanical action?
Do you dry vacuum enough times after the wet pass?
Do you ensure that there is adequate ventilation to the room?

[Colin Day]

Thought I'd bring an old topic to life.....

2-4 hours BTW

[Shaun_Ashmore]

On everything? do you stay around to check? carpets I clean do feel dry but I bet if you were to put a moisture meter to them they'd still be damp for longer than 3-4 hours.

Shaun

[Steven Taylor]

Polyprops - surface dry before I'm gone 
Nylons - 2/4 hours surface dry
Wool mix - up to 8 hrs depending on whether/heating etc

For the carpet to be completly dry backing/fibre double those hours