[david hutchieson]

Morning guys,

Having cleaned lots of different carpets that all seem to take different periods of time to dry I had a thought this morning that it might be an idea to have some sort of electronic probe that could tell me exactly how much residue there is in the carpet so I know when to wand more and use an air mover.

Surely something like this exists? Do they work and where are they?

Any ideas?

Cheers

Dave

[Steve Rothwell]

why not make a note of how many litres of water you put in the machine, and how many you tip out.

after a while you will have an idea of how long it will take to dry, by how much is left in the carpet.

[cleanability]

Bleeping heck I think u guys should get out more  lol

[Steve Rothwell]

wibble

what do you mean ??

wibble

[Terry_Burrows]

maybe the vacs or one not sucking up as good all said and done the ninja is a very good machine it picks up
water very good,leaving the carpet slightly damp drys in 1 to2 hours max thats at 200 psi

[robert meldrum]

Back of the hand is a good start!

[david hutchieson]

Sorry guys,

I should have mentioned that I use a TM most of the time with a direct water feed so measuring water in and out isn´t an option.

And you are right I do need to get out more when I start asking questions like this!

[Neil Williams]

I'm really struggling to answer this one
You want some form of measurement to tell you how wet a carpet is?
There are hand held probe machines out there but all they will tell you is if it's dry/damp/wet.
You could try a humidity meter. Place on carpet and take a % reading, nip outside and take a reading of the air humidity. If the outside is anywhere near what the inside is then it's going to take a while to dry. Alternatively do a flood course where they will teach you all this in far more detail.
And as you have a TM surely you should be able to get any carpet 'nearly' dry anyway.


I do remember a test done with a meter  by Ken (NCCA Chap fraid my memories gone )  and I think he said it took three days for carpet to be 100% dry

[david hutchieson]

Neil,

You are absolutely spot on! With the truckmount I normally find that the first room is dry when I leave but it was just one of those thoughts that you have ¨What can I do a little bit better?¨

Just wanted to see if i was missing an obvious trick!

Cheers

[Simon Gerrard]

You were born with a dampness detector, its called your hand
Surely just touching the carpet will tell you how damp / wet it is

[robert meldrum]

What psi do you mostly use with your machine...............most domestic carpets will clean at 200 - 300 psi with few needing more than 400 psi.

It's possible you're just putting down too much solution and the wand might be unsuitable for your height / body flexibility.

Or most likely........................YOU'RE BEING PARANOID !

[david hutchieson]

I normally clean at 250. And, yes, it´s just paranoia!

[Fred Burns]

Back of the hand is a good start!

I think Robert is right...just touch the carpet...

[gwrightson]

If you manage to be able to do the breast stroke on it , its too wet, if how ever you get carpet burns and dry knees whilst trying doggy its dry enough

Geoff

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

The only way you could determine the moisture content would be to weigh dry and then wet or the other way round.

Remember wetness is not the same as the humidity which is the relative saturation of the air.

You could try subjective tests like weighing a piece of kitchen towell, placing on carpet for a predetermined time with say a YP on it and reweigh.

Cheers

Doug

[Neil Williams]

Remember wetness is not the same as the humidity which is the relative saturation of the air.

Yes but it will give some idea of how long something will take to dry naturally if you compare outside (which is where the moisture has to end up) and the area directly above the wet/damp flooring, particulary if you use a moisture box. But all this really isn't helping the initial question though

[cleanability]

Cant believe this post has got legs lol A complete waste of ink lol  So its sorted then. First thing before anything else is done is to rip up the carpet and weigh it. Brilliant !!!

[Neil Williams]

First thing before anything else is done is to rip up the carpet and weigh it. Brilliant !!!

No. Only cut out one square inch where you intend to clean

[david hutchieson]

I think cleanability might be better named irritability 

[Adam Fearnley]

I have used an IR laser thermometer in the past, it seemed that the wetter the carpet was, the lower the temperature.  You just had to point it in the area of carpet you were measuring.