This whole encapsulation method is old but new. Maybe this is where Lee can shed some light on this question. I have had demos of this process and was impressed. But, I find it hard to accept that most of the actuall soil is removed when the customer vacuums after you leave. Knowing that, most don't vacuum frequently or have a poor vacuum. Leads me to believe the soil remains hiding amongst the fibers.

You say CRI is now recommending this process. Is that not interesting that I had only today a Servicemaster customer indicate to me that he was told he can no longer put a bonnet on a carpet.

Look out PadMan.

I use to love bell bottom pants especially when I walked up the stairs and tripped all over myself.

Encapsulating is still a mystery to me. I will have to get Lee to demonstrate that product so I can understand better.

Encapsulation sounds to me like a space age product or the method of putting your head back on after getting decapitated.

Gross where is my head at.

We started cleaning a library with the encapsulation in December.

Carpet stays cleaner longer and the facilities manager has stated that the dusting frequency has also decreased. I would have predicted the opposite.

Where does the dirt go? Good question. Many tests (quite unscientific I might add)  have been done by users of this process and almost nobody has found any significant accummulation of crystalline substance on the post vaccuuming the day after. The success is supposed to lie in the regular vaccuuming by the cleaning staff and that the dirt is being removed bit by bit with each vaccuuming.

I spoke to one of the leading manufacturers of carpet protectors chemists at length this week. I put forward the hypothesis that the polymers in the chemistry of the encapsulant are actually filling the gouches and scratches of the fiber and that is the reason the uglied out carpets look progressively better. He says that this is a possibility.

I believe that the chemistry does breakdown the physical forces that bind the dirt to fiber. (Vanderwal forces ? sp)

Of course the increased surface energy is the reason the carpets are easier to vacuum and therefore stay cleaner longer.

All I can say is that everyone of the dozens of naysayers I have heard of in North America who have  finally tried the process has been amazed at the results of this process. This includes myself.

Spoke with Jim Darling of Chemspec  a day or so ago. He hinted that Chemspec is working feverishly on an Encapsulation formulation soon to be released.

Hope I am not letting the cat out of the bag Jim. It's better to wait for the best.

The test and DO test for yourself is:

Does it clean great?

Does it smell great?

Does it ACTUALLY release from the carpet.... <--- Many DON"T

Encapsulate==== to encase

The encapsulation process requires two things.

1. A properly formulated detergent

2. A good machine to apply agitation.

The system does work very well on commercial carpets, and as I have not done very much VLM cleaning in the residential market can not speak for it in that  application, but do hear great results from them that are using it.

The secret to the detergent system is that once the detergent has been applied to the carpet and agitation is applied [in our case it is with a Cimex machine} the oily soil is released from the fiber and is formed into a soil bundle. The detergent system has a teflon ingredient that than encases the soil bundle and holds it in that state until it is vacuumed away. Vacuuming need not be done immediately, it can wait until the next scheduled vacuuming. The big change in this detergent vs. older type detergents is that the chemical molecule drys from the inside out rather than in old style detergents outside inward. This is how the encasement of the soil bundle is achieved. The teflon is also coating the fiber to resist any other resoiling. We do 1000's of sq ft every week with the system and I am still amazed at the results. One of the places we have found it really works is in apartment building corridors, cleans fast, smells good, drys fast, no mess no fuss.There is a big rush by manufacturers to develope a detergent for this market, it is important to test any product before you commit to using it in a big way, not all products are equal in this playing field.

Great post Don,

Encap products do need your points one and two, plus in order to CLEAN a carpet the encap product has to not only crystallize but it also has to shatter and remove easily or you gain nothing but a build up as time goes on.

As to the teflon comment, well that doesn't work quite that way, first off many have NO teflon, what they have is copolymers that harden and crystallize. EVERYTHING that is agitated into the "soup" (incliding teflon) will be encapsulated, nothing remains if the product is crystallizing right. Thus leaving a CLEAN carpet.

I agree, TEST, TEST, TEST and do it for yourself, do not believe ANYONE and especially don't go by the NAME of the product, they are VERY misleading.

Make it CLEANS well.

The odor is not offensive or strong.

It dries quickly.

Some need NO cure time others do.

Be sure it releases from the fibers, CHECK YOUR VACUUM, do you SEE the crystals? Are they dirty? If not you will only make more of a soup each time you clean.

PadMan

Don,

Thanks for the informative Encaspulation posting info and advice. You explained it in laymans terms. As most I have spoken to find Encapsulation a very confusing process.

Two points

Padman you are right I did not want to confuse the issue by saying copolymers, but many products use copolymers to achieve the encasement process of the soil bundle, and yes the crystallization of the product is another vital step that must happen in order to complete the cleaning process. This why I said test the product before you make a committment. They are not all created equal.

Ken:  Says think shampoo and you have the system down pat. Well Ken I started out shampooing carpets and I want nothing to do with SHAMPOO PROCESS, the only thing similar to shampoo and encap cleaning in some cases is the machine used for the agitation. Yes the Cimex has been around long before wall to wall carpet, but was not used that much in North America as a carpet cleaning machine. Those of us who where around when we went to HWE and followed the shampooers went crazy fighting the foam issue, and related browning of carpets for many years after HWE became the cleaning method of most professional carpet cleaners.The new chemistry of to day's encap products will never cause that problem. So it is not shampoo, even if Jimmy Ladwig says it is, it ain't.

Encapsulation Technology

"Encapsulated soil particles are held in suspension within the crystallized detergent until they can be extracted through normal routine post-vacuuming."


How Soil Affects Carpet:
According to a well documented study, dry soil comprises 79% of the total soil in a carpet. Most dry soil can be readily removed by routine dry vacuuming. It's the oily and sticky soils (the other 21%) that attract and hold dry soil to the surface. The result is a dull, gray, and ugly appearance.

Releasit® Carpet Maintenance Helps Carpet Stay Clean Longer:
The key to effective carpet cleaning is to counteract sticky soils. The Releasit® polymer chemistry surrounds soil particles in the carpet and forms a crystal* that can't attract other soil. While Releasit's crystallizing polymer is curing it is also absorbing the sticky soils that hold dry soil in place. With these oily soils out of the way the carpet looks cleaner. And since there's no dirt attracting residue left behind the carpet continues to look good long after the cleaning..

Releasit® also benefits from using advanced fluorochemical technology. As the carpet is scrubbed the loosened soil and the fiber are both coated with the fluorochemical. The fluorochemical significantly facilitates the extraction of the encapsulated soil particles through routine vacuuming. Additionally, the fluorochemical lowers the surface tension which increases the wetting / cleaning ability.  It also helps to increase the carpet's soil resistance. And  it has terrific anti-wicking properties. So carpets maintained with  Releasit® can stay clean longer.

Why is crystallization so important?
Releasit® brand products employ an innovative polymer technology to form a distinct crystal when it dries. The crystal is the vehicle that enables a good encapsulator to capture soil so it can be removed through post-vacuuming. Although some products may claim to "encapsulate" on the label and they may get the carpet to look good initially, (it's easy to get a carpet to look cleaner) the real concern should be whether or not the encapsulated soil can be removed with post-vacuuming.

Here's a simple test that you can perform to establish what an "encapsulation" product does when it dries. It's very easy. Just take a few drops of the product and dry it in a glass dish overnight. Check the content the next day. Did it form a true crystal? Does it readily release from the dish? Or did it dry sticky, gooey? Was it not completely dried? Or was it possibly stuck like a barnacle to the dish?

This simple dish-drying test will reveal the products soil releasing ability. A good encapsulation product should form a distinct crystal that will break up and release from the dish. Keep in mind that crystallization is the medium that holds the soil in suspension until it can be extracted with post-vacuuming. The soil can't be vacuumed from the carpet if poor crystallizing or no crystallizing occurs.

Ted, Does this mean you are selling Releasit?  And if so how much is it?

that's cool  Ted

I've had some of Padman's encap juice on the shelf for months that I've been wanting to try

but it would probably be easier to order from KK even if it is on the other side of the country

John L wrote: Stay's cleaner longer... So you don't get the repeat business as often..... ....  Hey... what a great concept....

Since most other cleaners use products that actually attract soil you will get business cleaning their mess-ups since people will talk about your methods allowing carpet to stay cleaner longer.

cleanex wrote: Ted, Does this mean you are selling Releasit?  And if so how much is it?

Yes we are selling Releasit. Before I give you the price and shock you should let me give you the dilution rates first. In fact that's what the first thing people should look at before price.

Use 4 oz. of Releasit to one gallon of pre-spray.

$75.00 per gallon.

Don

I have been on the west coast for a couple of days and have talked to numerous people who have expressed complete satisfaction with DFC 105 with both the bonnet and encap machines out there.

Also talked with a fellow on the Island who has used it through truck mounts and is very pleased with his results

Jim

Jim

We run it through the trucks all the time, at least 60% of our jobs the DFC 105 is all we need, other than that we use a little pre spray in real soiled areas.

Our commercial cleaning division is now using only DFC 105 for our bonnet maintenance cleaning.

Don