SUBSURFACE
EXTRACTION:
The Most Easy & Effective Carpet Cleaning Method Ever Invented!
There
is simply no more effective way to eradicate pet stains and odors from
your carpet, pad AND subfloor than to do what's called subsurface
extraction.
I've been performing --- and
evangelizing about --- subsurface extraction for nearly two decades ---
long before many professional cleaners were hip to this method. It
is, as they say, "the bomb!"
The "What"
First, I'll explain the tools we use to perform subsurface extraction,
then I'll explain what they do and how we use them.
We use and sell the two subsurface
tools shown here. They're made by SOS and are incredibly
effective, yet affordable, starting at just $47.99 (with free
shipping) for the Hand Tool shown on the left, which is intended
for spot cleaning. The Pro Tool, shown on the right, is
made for whole-room or whole-house jobs and has footpads you stand on as
the unit --- in conjunction with a powerful enough carpet extractor ---
removes contamination all the way down to your subfloor. (This can
be a machine you own or one you rent; the SOS tools are designed to mate
to different sizes of hose, as discussed later in this document, so
they're pretty universal and are likely to fit just about any rental
unit's hose cuff.)
The "How"
Conventional carpet cleaning is usually performed by a technician using
a wand. In the hands of an experienced operator, this can be an
effective method of removing contamination from your carpet fibers, but
it does virtually nothing to alleviate contamination that's in your
carpet's primary or secondary backing, your carpet pad or your subfloor.
(Ever had carpet cleaning performed, then seen stains come back?
That's because they're "wicking" up from underneath. They might
have been rewetted, but were not removed.)
Various other carpet cleaning methods
have been devised over the years to help make it easier, faster and, in
some cases, more effective to clean carpet than by using a simple wand.
(We own these various types of tools and are familiar with their use.)
Unfortunately, none of them is capable of getting deep down in your
carpet and providing a more thorough cleaning job than a wand.
This is exactly why subsurface extraction was invented.
Conversely, the SOS tools develop a
super-tight vacuum seal against your carpet, thus developing tremendous
suction power to really pull out the contamination --- all the way down
to the subfloor.
The Process Of Using Doodoo Voodoo
With A Subsurface Tool
It's incredibly easy and fast to do subsurface extraction with Doodoo
Voodoo and one of the SOS tools. (Read the steps here, then
further down the page, I'll show you some of the jobs I've done.)
1. Soak a spot
with Doodoo Voodoo, starting in a ring around the outside and working in
toward the center. This helps contain the stain/odor and keeps it
from spreading out farther.
2. "Smoosh"
the Doodoo Voodoo down with your shoe
(perhaps with disposable shoe covers on) to
force it deep into the carpet backing and pad. You'll see a ton of
bubbles and hear a suction sound.
3. Let the Doodoo Voodoo dwell
for 5 to 30 minutes so it can begin to eliminate the stains and odors, and
so it can liquify the offensive organic material so you can extract it.
4. Extract the area with
your subsurface tool and owned or rented carpet extractor machine. You
can see through the clear plastic top of the subsurface tool exactly what you're
removing. You'll be mortified at what comes out of your carpet.
5. Pour warm water on the area and
smoosh it in
like you did the Doodoo Voodoo.
6. Extract again using
your subsurface tool and extractor. You may have to repeat this
flood-&-extract step more than once to get all the organic material and
Doodoo Voodoo out. Keep doing it 'til you stop seeing suds coming
out.
7. Optional: Mist
the surface of the carpet with Doodoo Voodoo.
It's literally that fast and that easy.
Once you do it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. I'm
not kidding. You'll be thinking, "Why, oh why, did I live with
stains, odors and filth all this time when this is so easy and
affordable????"
Why Subsurface Extraction Is So
Effective Against Stains & Odors
Regular carpet cleaning only removes contamination from the carpet
fibers, but subsurface extraction (assuming you use a strong enough
extraction machine) will pull contamination from the fibers, primary &
secondary backing, pad and subfloor. As I started saying years
ago, subsurface extraction is "like running your carpet through a
washing machine!"™ If there's no contamination left in the carpet,
backing, pad or subfloor, there's nothing left to stain or stink.
Don' Freak Out, But I'm Going To
Tell You To Pour A Bucket Of Water On Your Carpet
I don't do much carpet cleaning for pay, but have helped a number of
animal charity workers, family members, friends and others over the
years, so, for a layman, I have a, uh, *considerable* amount of
experience at carpet and upholstery cleaning. When I explain to
people what I'm about to do, their eyes get
real big and they start stepping further away from me. It's
comical to see their reactions!
Yes, you're going to flood areas with Doodoo Voodoo and
warm water, but then, using the SOS tools, you're going to extract most
of it (some studies show 95%) right back out, minutes later. We
pour it on, agitate it a bit, let it dwell briefly, then extract it.
Realistically, the goal is to pour on
enough to saturate the fibers, backings, pad and perhaps wet the
subfloor without introducing so much liquid that you super-saturate
everything, including the subfloor. I'm not asking you to pour so
much liquid onto your carpet that you're sloshing around the room in
your wading boots. We want it squishy wet, but not flooded.
According to one of the industry's leading experts (he literally wrote
the book on cleaning and wrote the guidelines published by the governing
body of the cleaning industry), it takes just under 3 gallons of liquid
to fully saturate 1 square yard of typical pad and carpet. So, it
takes about 3 gallons to saturate an area 3'x3'. This will not
super-saturate the area (like I mentioned above in my wading boots
comment).
You can use a bucket or a gardener's
sprinkling can (I use both). But — wait for it — you can also get
a hose adapter for a faucet and use a garden hose
with a sprayer on the end. This may be culture
shock for you to hear, but I've done it and seen others do it for the
purpose we're discussing on this page. It works great, but
obviously you have to be careful as to where and when you use it.
[Mr. Lawyer Says: we're not liable for incidental or consequential
damages if you use a hose in this manner.]
Don't Freak Out #2: You're Not
Going To Spend Gazillions On Doodoo Voodoo To Accomplish This
The beauty of subsurface extraction is that I'd rather see you flood
your stains & odors more than once with a weaker mixture than to mix up
some super-strong Doodoo Voodoo and use it all up on a relatively small
area. In fact, in a minute I'm going to relate a short story to
you about just how weak you can mix your Doodoo Voodoo and still achieve
total success. Saturating an area with require far more warm
water than Doodoo Voodoo.
Wait For It...
The secrets to the success of this methodology are (a) flooding the
stain/odor area; (b) letting the Doodoo Voodoo mixture dwell long enough
to re-liquify the contamination & do its Doodoo Voodoo magic on the
stains & odors; (c) "smooshing" the mixture through all the carpet
fibers and cells of the pad; (d) doing a thorough subsurface extraction;
then (e) flooding the area with warm water and again thoroughly
performing subsurface extraction.
If you just used warm water to do all
this, it wouldn't be effective like it is when you introduce Doodoo
Voodoo into the equation. Nor would it be as effective if you
simply poured on your Doodoo Voodoo mixture, then immediately did your
extraction. You can't cut any corners here, but, luckily, none of
this is difficult or time-consuming.
Drying
It is important to mention here that even once you do subsurface
extraction, a small amount of residual Doodoo Voodoo will still remain
in the carpet and pad. This is a good thing, as it keeps working
for you through the drying process.
Speaking of drying, a common question
is whether to let the area air dry or accelerate the drying with ceiling
fans, box fans, etc. We do not encourage accelerated drying for
the first few hours (at least two and not more than six, if possible),
but do encourage acceleration after that. If you happen to have a
dehumidifier, we suggest you run it in the area, as this will help speed
up the drying process.
Now, if you don't have a way to
accelerate the drying process, don't sweat it, but do realize that it
will take longer to dry way down deep. In this instance, do your
best to remove as much moisture with the subsurface tool as possible.
Videos To Familiarize You With The
Tools
Here are links to two short videos on YouTube to show you how the SOS
Hand Tool & Pro Tool work.
Notes About The Pro Video: The
Pro video is targeted at professional carpet cleaners, which is why it
mentions "truckmounts," which are the in-van machines pro's tend to use
(they're powered by the van's engine, which is why carpet cleaners leave
their vans running in front of your house), but the Pro can absolutely be used with appropriate
portable carpet extractors that exhibit sufficient suction
(called "waterlift" in the carpet cleaning industry).
We've sold a number of Pro tools to consumers and they've loved them.
Guess What's In Your House Right Now
Below are two examples of some dirty water I got when I did a subsurface
extraction job on carpet that seemed clean (and had been professionally
cleaned not long prior). You won't believe what's lurking in your
carpet, pad and subfloor, and what you and your pets are breathing.
Let Me Illustrate How Cheap & Easy
It Is To Solve Your Stain & Odor Problems
Here's a recent case study to help illustrate the effectiveness of
subsurface extraction.
A professor at a prestigious east coast
university complained of extreme cat urine smell and tons of vomit
stains in his family's carpeted basement, plus cat urine in their upholstered
sectional sofa. They had tried all manner of home remedies,
store-bought products and cover-ups, but nothing worked and they were
glad to have been referred to Doodoo Voodoo.
I advised him regarding the proper
methodology and sold him a gallon of Doodoo Voodoo Concentrate. He
bought a nozzle tool from us (sorry, they're not on the website just
yet, but will be soon) and I directed him regarding which carpet
cleaning extractor to rent locally (it happened to be one of the same
machines we use and now sell, but which are also not on the site just
yet). I think it was about $35 per day to rent the machine.
One recent Saturday, he and his wife
jumped into the project and did subsurface extraction of their basement,
which contained multiple rooms, and their sectional.
They kept texting me photos and their
thoughts as they went along. One that really made me laugh was
when they told me they didn't realize what filthy people they were until
they started doing subsurface extraction. :-)
To say they were thrilled with the
results --- and absolutely amazed by how fast, easy and inexpensive it
was --- would be an understatement. They said that they never
thought some of the stains would come out...but they all did.
They
said they never have imagined that their "trashed" carpet, pad and
subfloor could be salvaged...but they were.
They, being
environmentally conscious, were thrilled that all their carpet and pad
stayed out of the landfill and that they didn't have to spend big money
on new flooring. They were thrilled that they didn't have to clean
and seal their subfloor, nor replace the drywall that had been peed on
or replace their baseboard and shoe molding. Spraying Doodoo
Voodoo was all they needed.
And the most amazing thing was that
they said they mixed most of their DooDoo Voodoo at our weakest
recommended strength! They didn't use the whole gallon of Doodoo
Voodoo Concentrate, so they're glad to have some left in case the cats make more
messes.
They texted me the next day to tell me:
"There is ZERO smell in the
basement.
No Doodoo Voodoo smell, no pee smell, NOTHING. It just smells
neutral!"
How To Use The Two Types Of Tools To
Perform Subsurface Extraction
The Hand Tool you use by hand on smaller stains and odors and do so as
shown in the photos. The Pro Tool you stand on as you move around
the room and it is intended for use on larger areas of square footage.
But, even if you intend to work on smaller areas of stain and odor, you
can still use the Pro tool. It may be easier for some of you to
use 'cause you never have to get on your hands and knees.
Regardless which tool you choose,
you'll get the hang of it in just minutes and you'll have a smile on
your face and a great sense of satisfaction.
Got Any Stains That Keep Coming Back
No Matter How Many Times You Clean Them?
Welcome to the dreaded "wicking" and "soil migration." These are
professional terms that define the reasons that stains keep reappearing
after you thought you were done with them for good. You see, even
when the top of the carpet LOOKS clean, there's likely plenty of organic
matter down deep. This soil will automatically migrate up.
Why? Because the carpet fibers will dry on top faster than the
deeper fibers will dry. Physics says that the moisture down deep
will automatically migrate toward the dryer fibers on top, thus carrying
the deep-down soil with it. The result? A stain that keeps
coming back. No more...if you perform subsurface extraction.
The deep-down soil will be GONE.
Go Big
In professional circles, it's said that if you use a Pro-type tool, you
can subsurface extract up to 1200 square feet in an hour. I've
done a ton of subsurface work and am pretty darned good at it, but I
think 1200 square feet in an hour might be overstating it a bit, as you
need to allow dwell time and flush time (with warm water, often more
than once). But, the process IS super-easy and goes a LOT faster
than you ever would imagine. Seriously! Doing subsurface
extraction is w-a-y easier than cleaning carpet using a wand.
You'll Do A Better Job Than A Many
Professionals
As amazing as it may seem, there are still some professional carpet cleaners
who don't own these types of tools. All they have in their arsenal
is the stereotypical wand...and a sore back and shoulders. No
matter how good a technician is, he'll never do the in-depth extraction
with a wand that you'll be able to do for as little as $47.99 (with
free shipping).
Additional Photos Of The Hand Tool
And Pro Tool
Here are some more photos and screencaps of the two tools so you can
better familiarize yourself with them.
The Hand Tool is compatible with all
three sizes of common hoses/cuffs (below), but the Pro Tool only works
with 1.5" and 2" hoses/cuffs:
Here's how you stand on the Pro Tool as
you move around the area:
The Pro Tool with its included storage
bag and removable, adjustable handle:
Another Case Study We
have an elderly special-needs rescue dog named Rocky (right) who
sometimes goes #1 and #2 on the carpet due to separation anxiety and
"sundowner's syndrome" from the chemistry of his aging brain.
(He has a lot of other health issues, as explained on the Rocky Clean-Up
page.)
But
with the proper tools (Doodoo Voodoo, an EDIC portable extractor and the
SOS subsurface Hand Tool), his messes are now just an inconvenience for
us. With the proper tools, YOU can deal with messes as quickly and
easily as I did here.
This project took me very little time
and very little Doodoo Voodoo to completely eradicate what otherwise was AWFUL,
GROSS staining of the carpet in one of our bedrooms. As I say in
our brochure and on this site: Doodoo Voodoo gives you peace of
mind and makes pet messes no big deal.
Here are some photos from a recent
cleanup. Note that I spared you the trauma of seeing the
extraordinarily gross "before" photos of the dog poo. (Click on these
images to see
larger versions.)
Photo #1:
Here's after I cleaned up the (soft, not formed, & smeared) dog feces that had
REALLY stained the carpet. I've poured Doodoo Voodoo on the spots
(starting in a ring around the outside and working in toward the center)
and am letting it dwell for about 10 minutes.
You're probably thinking, "Isn't
pouring the liquid on the remaining poo just going to drive it farther
into the carpet backing, pad and subfloor?" In theory, yes, but
I've already cleaned up most of it...and we're about to hit these areas
with such enormous vacuum suction and such a high volume of liquid that
the areas will be really flushed through and through with Doodoo Voodoo
& warm water, thus allowing us to extract all the contamination very
thoroughly.
Photo #2:
Here I'm using the corner of the Doodoo Voodoo Claw Tool (which we
intend to have for sale on the website soon) to work the Doodoo Voodoo
into the spots. (I have the Claw Tool attached to the hose of our
EDIC Bravo portable extractor.) As you can see, the initial cleanup and pouring of
Doodoo Voodoo has virtually eliminated the staining (which was severe
and really gross), but I wanted to make sure that the areas were as
stain, odor and germ-free as possible --- and as deep down as possible
--- so I figured I'd do a proper cleanup, which to me always includes
surface work and a subsurface extraction. If I'd have skipped
doing the subsurface extraction, would Doodoo Voodoo alone have taken
care of the stains and odors? Yes, but I wouldn't have felt that
the areas were as clean as they would be with proper extraction
methodology.
Photo #3:
Working the Claw Tool back and forth to really work Doodoo Voodoo into
the carpet fibers. If you don't have a Claw Tool handy, you can
also use a *soft* plastic-bristled brush. Don't use too stiff a
brush, as it can damage your carpet fibers. You can also simply
put on rubber gloves or disposable exam gloves (which we include with
many Doodoo Voodoo products) and make your fingers into a "claw" that
you use to work the product into the fibers. As discussed above,
you can also use your shoes to "smoosh" the Doodoo Voodoo mixture deeper
into the backing, pad and subfloor. When you do this and release
your foot pressure, you're creating a vacuum that draws the Doodoo
Voodoo mixture deeper into the areas that are contaminated.
Photo #4:
This is after using the technique shown in Photo #3.
Photo #5:
This photo I shot after using the Claw Tool to extract as much from the
carpet fibers as
possible. It did a great job and I could have stopped here if I'd
been in a hurry. The deep-down Doodoo Voodoo would have kept
working, then dried naturally.
But it was bedtime and someone in
the family was chomping at the bit to get to bed. I didn't want
the room to smell like Doodoo Voodoo while someone was trying to sleep,
so subsurface extraction was in order. Note the position in which
I set the Claw Tool down? I show this to you to illustrate that if
you're going to set your Claw or other tool down, set it in such a way
that any liquid inside doesn't drain out onto the floor.
Photo #6:
Here I'm using the SOS Hand Tool immediately after using the Claw Tool
to extract the fibers. But see (in the black area on top of the
Hand Tool) how there's not much coming up from
the backing and pad (no suds are visible)? This is because the tool needs the carpet
fibers to be really wet in order to work correctly. Why? Because
it's easier for the tool to create a vacuum effect when placed on wet
carpet vs. dry. So, don't be afraid to really soak your subsurface
extraction areas.
Photo #7:
This is after I dumped warm water on the spots so as to flush out the
offensive organic material and
Doodoo Voodoo (which has by now seeped down deep into the carpet backing and
pad). You should flush 'til the extraction solution is clear and
not sudsy.
Photo #8:
This is after a couple flushes with warm water and the SOS Hand Tool.
Note that even though the subsurface tool pulls out nearly all the
water (between about 92 & 95%), there's still enough left in the carpet to allow you to see the
areas that have been treated. But within about an hour, the
wetness had completely disappeared and you couldn't even see where I'd
flooded the carpet with Doodoo Voodoo and warm water. Most
importantly, you couldn't see smeared feces...and the room didn't smell of dog poop or Doodoo Voodoo. That's what we want when it's bedtime. ;-)
An Optional Final Step The last step I always do
is what's called "grooming" the carpet. I didn't photograph this
step in the above job, but it's something I wanted to mention to you
because (a) it helps the carpet look much better once it's dry; and (b)
it helps the carpet dry a lot faster.
We intend to sell carpet grooming
"rakes" one of these days, but are not currently selling them.
Why? Because they're long and unwieldy and difficult to ship.
We keep looking for a way to ship them broken down into pieces that you
assemble when you receive them, thus making the units easier and less
expensive to ship.
Here's a photo of a carpet rake such as
we have about a dozen of (click to see a larger version). The
nylon teeth really help make your carpet fibers stand up straight after
you finish your cleaning.
You Wanna Feel That Good About YOUR
House? The level of cleanliness I show above, my friends, is what you can experience, too.
You can be rid of your stains and odors
better, faster and cheaper than you ever
thought possible. You can avoid having to do a ton of extra work
on the subfloor and you can avoid buying new flooring and hurting the
environment. Your house can be cleaner, fresher-smelling and
stain-free --- all for as little as $47.99 with free shipping to all 50
states.
That's WAY less than any professional
cleaning would cost you. And it's going to be FAR more effective
at eradicating your stains and odors PERMANENTLY than a conventional
carpet cleaning could ever be.
Subsurface extraction is right for you
and your pets. Buy a subsurface tool now and enjoy its
effectiveness for many years to come!
SOS Hand Tool With Free Shipping
To All 50 States
Via Priority Mail
SOS Pro Tool With Free Shipping To
All 50 States Via Priority
Mail
*Note: a delivery signature is required on this item
There
is simply no more effective way to eradicate pet stains and odors from
your carpet, pad AND subfloor than to do what's called subsurface
extraction.
