Cleaning Tip of the Month
By Mike Schaffer

Using Air Movers for Enhanced Carpet Maintenance
And A Healthy Indoor Environment

Carpet cleaning professionals often do not realize how essential air movers are to facilitate an effective carpet-maintenance program. These high-powered machines are one of the best ways to speed drying time after extraction, protect the indoor environment, and also enhance the longevity of carpets.

Some air movers, such as Tornado’s Windshear™ 3000,SD 3500, and Sidedraft , can be placed at different angles and positions to tackle all kinds of carpet drying situations. This means the machine can be upright, tilted, face up, and even stacked. The more versatile the machine, the better it can handle a variety of carpet drying situations.

Dryers such as Tornado’s Windshear Downdraft are even more convenient and can be placed in the center of the room for whole room drying.  In either case, what’s happening when using an air mover is that the constant flow of air over a just cleaned carpet speeds evaporation.  This is important because the faster the carpet dries, the less likely contaminants can develop.  Additionally, it helps minimize re-soiling. 

Carpet fibers that remain wet or moist over a prolonged period of time (more then 48 hours) can provide a welcome breeding ground for microorganisms to grow. It has been shown that moisture along with temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit allow bacteria to reproduce every 15 to 20 minutes. In fact, under very moist and warm conditions, one cell can become 70 billion in approximately 12 hours.

Fungi and mold also thrive in these conditions. Because the microorganisms like moist, stale air, it is necessary to alter these conditions, which is how air movers can help.

Current recommendations by such organizations as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) are that carpets should dry in less than 24 hours. However, many experts believe that even this is to long, suggesting carpets be dry in 12 hours or less.

Putting the Air Mover to Work

When using air movers, one of the first issues cleaning professionals must grapple with is just how many air movers are needed?  A good rule of thumb is that for every 200 square feet of surface area, which includes walls, ceiling, and the carpets, at least one air mover is required to expedite drying time.  Using this formula, a 20-foot by 20-foot room would need at least four traditional type air movers

It may be necessary to adjust or move the air movers during the drying period—every thirty minutes or longer to make sure the air mover is reaching all areas.  This all depends on the size of the area to be dried and how it is configured, as well as the size and CFM of the air mover.

Alternatively, the Tornado® Windshear™ Downdraft can be used for a room this size. The downdraft is simply placed in the center of the room and is designed to stand off the carpet at the optimum height, blowing air down and across the entire room. 

Certain variables can affect how quickly and efficiently the air movers perform.  For instance, if the facility has a good HVAC system with a good dehumidifier, the HVAC system will complement the air movers and speed drying time considerably. In most situations, it is recommended to use the HVAC system to speed drying and not open windows unless it is a warm day outside with very low humidity.

Not only are air movers an effective and necessary part of a carpet maintenance program, helping to keep the indoor environment healthy, they also help protect carpets and extend their life cycle.  Moisture can weaken carpet fibers and, as mentioned earlier, wet carpets become re-soiled very quickly, which can damage carpet fibers as well.  Air movers are an effective way to prevent this.