WET vs. DRY CLEANING for WALL-TO-WALL CARPET

Wet vs dry cleaning for your carpets? In most areas of the country, you can find wall-to-wall carpet cleaning companies who use exclusively wet or exclusively dry carpet cleaning methods and many who use both or either, depending on the fiber content and condition of the carpet.

WHICH METHOD IS BEST?

Wet Method

If you have pets or if it has been some time since you had your carpets cleaned or if they are unusually dirty and riddled by spots, a wet cleaning method would be your best option.

Carpet shampooing was the method used before truck-mounted steam cleaning systems became available. The shampoo method was not as effective and would leave a shampoo residue that would actually attract dirt. The result was a carpet that would get dirtier faster, thus needing to be cleaned more often.

Carpet manufacturers are in agreement today that the steam cleaning or hot water extraction (specifically truck-mounted) method is the most effective at removing deep down dirt from carpet pile. This method, when performed properly, will not leave a residue as the shampoo method does.

The downside to the wet method is the relatively long drying time. However, if done correctly and with quality equipment and know-how, the carpet should be damp to the touch when the technician leaves and should be mostly dry within 5 to 8 hours, depending on the temperature outside and inside.

Additionally, booties can be offered to put over shoes if the carpet needs to be used sooner. And, in certain instances, it is possible to professionally wet clean a carpet using a low moisture cleaning method, which can significantly lessen the total drying time. 

Anything smaller than a truck-mounted unit, such as a portable cleaner or a carpet shampooer rented from a store cannot do the job as well. Problems posed by the portables, especially do-it-yourself methods, are: 

• the tendency to use too much soap leaving a residue,
• the water is not hot enough,
• the vacuum is not strong enough to pull out the majority of the water, which will extend the drying time and possibly cause moisture problems such as mold and mildew.

Dry Method

The dry cleaning method uses solutions and dry compounds to attract and absorb dirt and grime. The process is not as labor-intensive as wet cleaning and is faster.

One method is a low moisture foaming system which separates the dirt from the carpet fiber and uses a powerful vacuum to remove both the dirt and the solution.

Another method uses a dry cleaning compound which is spread on the carpet to absorb the dirt and then vacuumed up. Unfortunately, with this method, a residue may remain in the carpet. After several dry compound cleanings, another process may be required to eliminate the residue.

With dry cleaning there is, of course, no lengthy drying time but the dry cleaning method is never as effective at removing deep-down dirt and stains in the carpet pile as wet cleaning.

The dry cleaning method may be the only possible method to use in certain circumstances such as when a carpet cleaning truck cannot get close enough to a residence or a commercial building to run necessary hoses, or the hookup for those hoses would not be practical.

Wet and Dry Methods Used Together

Please continue reading here for continued information on wet and dry methods of carpet cleaning as well as which methods ABC uses and how ABC can help.

TURKISH RUGS

HISTORY

EARLIEST RUGS

Turkish rugs, both flatwoven (or kilims with no pile) and hand-knotted rugs (with pile), have been woven in the various Turkish regions for centuries. Unfortunately, not enough evidence has thus far been obtained to provide the answer as to when these rugs actually first appeared. Archaeological excavations have proven that flatwoven rugs (kilims) have been produced in the Anatolia region of Turkey since at least the Neolithic period.

The earliest specimens of hand-knotted rugs discovered thus far were in Turkish regions in excavations carried out on Turkish burial mounds. This evidence confirms the belief this first type of hand-knotted rug was most likely first woven and used by the Turks. 

NOMADIC CULTURE 

Hand-woven textiles were a necessary household item for people living in Central Asia where the Turks originated. The migratory life of the nomads made it necessary to have on hand a variety of woven woolen textiles such as tents and pile rugs, as well as kilims (flatweaves), felts, coverings, sacks, and satchels.

The nomad Turks used the wool from their animals to weave rugs and they brought their rug weaving tradition with them when they migrated from Central Asia toward the West.

TURKISH RUGS - DESIGNS 

The rug designs of the Turk nomads reflected their lives as influenced by the various climatic and geographic conditions they experienced. Along the way they also added influences from their new living conditions and the impact of local cultures. They thus continued their tradition, though with modified colors and designs.

The values of a particular weaving period may be reflected in the twist and quality of the wool, the manner in which the dye was manufactured, and from what plants or insects it was produced, the fineness or looseness of the stitch and, most important of all, the symbolic significance of the motif.

PIOUS ENDOWMENTS 

The Turkish tradition of pious endowments is the major reason rugs have managed to come down to us from the depths of the past. The benefactors who, with their own modest resources, built the mosques to be found in even the smallest village. They then furnished them with rugs and kilims and added to these several of the finest specimens produced over the centuries by the looms in the various houses. There were also a number of prayer rugs specially woven for the mosques. It is thanks to this tradition of pious endowment that the cultural heritage of carpets and kilims has survived to the present day.

TURKISH RUG WEAVING TODAY 

Today, rug weaving still continues in villages in Anatolia, although the number of carpets being made has been reduced.

It is noteworthy to mention the successful DOBAG project (a Turkish acronym for Natural Dye Research and Development Project,) which had produced superior carpets since 1981 with natural plant dyes and traditional Turkish motifs in the villages in northwestern Anatolia.

Unfortunately, as of the end of 2018, the annual production for the Dobag project was down to only 30 pieces, mainly woven by older weavers and the project was essentially terminated.

REPUBLIC OF TURKEY (TURKIYE) TODAY

Turkey (officially the Republic of Turkey as of 1923) is a country mainly located on the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia (also known as Asia Minor) with a small region in Thrace in the Balkan region of SE Europe. 

Although in 1923, Turkey wished to be called Turkiye, it wasn't until December of 2021 that the country officially changed its name to Turkiye (tur-key-yay) in order to disassociate the name from that of the bird and to better represent its culture and values. (For our purposes, we will refer to Turkiye as Turkey in this article.)

Turkey is bordered by the Aegean Sea in the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Black Sea in the north. Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan are on the east, Georgia in the northeast, Bulgaria and Greece in the northwest, and Iraq and Syria in the southeast.  

Turkey shares maritime borders with Cyprus, Egypt, Northern Cyprus, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.

There are two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which connect the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea with the Sea of Marmara.  

Turkey is more than twice the size of Germany or slightly smaller than the US states of Texas and Louisiana combined. It has a population of more than 82 million people. The largest city is Istanbul. The second largest city and the national capital is Ankara.  

Turkish is the official language with Kurdish and Arabic also spoken.

REGIONS OF TURKEY

Turkey can be subdivided into seven major geographical regions:   

MARMARA REGION 

This region is the most densely populated in the country and is located in the northwestern part of the country on both the continents of Europe and Asia. Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, is located here.

BLACK SEA REGION 

This region is a long stretching mountainous region along the Black Sea with a predominantly rural population. Major cities are Samsun, a Black Sea port, the port city of Zonguldak, and Trabzon which was a main port on the historical Silk Road.

AEGEAN REGION

This region is one of Turkey’s prominent tourism centers. It shares much of the history of Ancient Greece and is home to the city-states of Ephesus Miletus, and Bodrum (formerly Halicarnassus).

MEDITERRANEAN REGION 

This region consists of a mountainous strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. The Taurus Mountain range in the region separates the Mediterranean coastal area from the Anatolian Plateau. The Turkish Riviera, with the two popular resort towns of Alanya and Antalya, is located here.  

CENTRAL ANATOLIA 

This historical region is the heartland of Turkey. It is home to the country’s capital, Ankara, and other major cities like Konya and Kayseri.

Cappadocia is also located in Central Anatolia. This is an ancient region between Lake Tuz and the Euphrates, famous for its ‘fairy chimneys’. Erosion has shaped the soft volcanic rock into thousands of strangely shaped towers and this area has become a favorite of hot-air balloon fans. 

SOUTHEAST ANATOLIA 

This region is also known as Turkish Kurdistan. It borders Syria in the south and Iraq in the southeast. In ancient times, Southeast Anatolia was part of the historical region of northwestern Mesopotamia, the site of the earliest urban civilizations. The world’s oldest stone structures were erected by an unknown civilization between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE, a time that predates Stonehenge by 6,000 years!

EASTERN ANATOLIA 

This region was formerly part of western Armenia. It is the region with the lowest population density. The main economic activity is agriculture and animal husbandry. Van is a major city near the Turkish border with Iran and lies on the shores of Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey and one of the world’s largest lakes with no outlet. The university town of Erzurum is located here and is a popular winter sports destination in Turkey.

MAJOR TURKISH RUGS

Please continue reding here for an overview of nine of the major Turkish rugs with photos.

For an in-depth article on Turkish Rug Motifs, please click here.

EUGENE JACQUES BULLARD

Eugene Jacques Bullard. Extraordinary human. Extraordinary life. He excelled as a jockey, a boxer, a soldier, a pilot, a drummer and jazz musician, a nightclub proprietor, a single parent with 2 daughters, a spy, a longshoreman, a salesman, an elevator operator, a holder of medals for bravery, and much, much more. Here is his story…

BIRTH

Eugene Jacques Bullard was born on October 9, 1895, in Georgia to a father who was a former slave from Haiti and a mother who was a full- blooded Creek Indian. Young Eugene learned early about Southern bigotry. His father barely escaped a lynching and had to go into hiding.

Eugene's father had told him tales of a faraway land called France where ‘white people treated colored people as human beings.’ These tales inspired him. He began to hold fast to a dream of leaving the US south and getting, somehow, to France.

YOUTH

Bullard left his home permanently in 1906 after his mother died. He was only 11 years old! He wandered through the South for the next 6 years, living for a time with gypsies. He learned the art of horsemanship and worked as a jockey. Eventually, after traveling and working, he made his way to the Port of Norfolk, Virginia where he was able to stow away on a ship bound for Scotland. He would not see America again for thirty years!

In Glasgow, he got work as a lookout for gambling operators and was able to save enough money to get to England where he would be one country closer to his goal. In Liverpool, he engaged in hard labor, developing his muscles so he could turn to boxing.

BOXING

Eugene Jacques Bullard became part of a whole expat community of black boxers who had fled to Europe to find opportunities denied to them in the US. Some of these men were the finest fighters in history.

He began boxing regularly as a welterweight, which earned him enough money to get him to Paris for a bout. He won that bout and then dropped out of boxing. He had at last found his way home to France which, in his heart, was his adopted country.

SOLDIER

French Foreign Legion

In 1914, World War I had begun. Bullard felt that fighting for France was an honor. He joined the French Foreign Legion, training to fight in the 3^rd Marching Division. The soldiers in the French Foreign Legion came from all walks of life, from all over the world, and were often running from various situations.

The 1820s and 30s were a turbulent time in France and Paris became the home of revolutionaries, refugees, criminals, and other undesirables. The French Foreign Legion originated as a way for Paris to rid itself of these most dangerous inhabitants. Rather than imprison or expel them, the French government instead pushed them into a special military unit created exclusively for foreigners. This unit was sent off to fight France’s colonial wars. If the men survived five years of fighting, they could return as French citizens.

Because of the rough nature of the recruits, strong discipline was required to keep them in line. Thus, the Legion soon earned a reputation for brutality in punishment as well as recklessness in battle. For the French military, these men could be sent into the most dangerous situations since they were considered to be ‘disposable.’

Battle of Somme

Eugene Jacques Bullard was sent to the front to the Battle of the Somme, fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. Some of the worst losses of World War I were experienced in this battle. Bullard’s 3^rd Marching Division was disbanded after Somme.

170^th Cavalry

Following a short respite, Bullard joined the 170^th Cavalry. This group of individuals were known as ‘the Black Swallows.’ Folklore associated the swallow with misfortune. Bullard, who was known as ‘the Black Sparrow,’ also became known as ‘the Black Swallow of Death.’

Battle of Verdun

The 170^th Cavalry was sent straight to Verdun with Eugene Bullard ranking as a Corporal. This would become one of the longest and worst battles in the history of the human race. Bullard led a machine-gun crew on the front line, fighting through a shrapnel wound to the face until he was finally sidelined by a near fatal wound to his thigh. For his valor at Verdun, Bullard was decorated with the Croix de Guerre, one of France’s highest military honors.

FIGHTER PILOT

Bullard is best known as the first African-American fighter pilot, though he never flew for the United States.

You can find out all about Eugene Jacques Bullard and his amazing life accomplishments by clicking here.

REGULAR CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DISCOUNT CONTINUES IN FEBRUARY!!

January 2-March 31, 2024

Thank you for being an ABC customer!

Each year we send out a discount postcard to our regular customers in appreciation for their loyalty.

ALL DISCOUNTS EXTEND TO FAMILY & FRIENDS!

The story behind the ABC RCAD (Regular Customer Appreciation Discount can be found here.

Call or text ABC at 607-272-1566 to schedule today!