Learn How to Effectively Use Acidic Rinses on Carpet

What Are the Acidic Rinses That I Can Use?

There are various acidic rinses. Some formulas (predominantly acids) are designed as neutralizers, Formulas that have other acidic builders and high amounts of surfactants qualify as an emulsifying rinse.

An acidic neutralizing rinse is primarily acidic and has appropriate corrosion inhibitors that protect your equipment.

Sometimes an anionic hydrotrope or surfactant may be added to help break surface tension. This rinse will lower the level of alkalinity after the emulsification of the pre-spray. The emulsification of oils and soils uses up some alkalinity in the pre-spray. The remaining pH of the carpet fiber is more a result of the total alkalinity of the pre-spray and the amount of oily soil emulsified than on neutralizing rinse.

It is important to remember that low levels of acidic builders reduce the thoroughness of the rinse. A neutralizing rinse depends more upon the lift of the vacuum to remove soils than on an acidic builder designed to help carry away soils in the water stream.

An acidic emulsifying rinse is designed to work with all carpet pre-sprays.

When you use an acidic emulsifying rinse for extraction you accomplish several things at once and receive a cleaning and rinsing boost as needed

1. Acidic builders are designed to attach to the soil emulsified by any pre-spray and rinse it thoroughly out of the carpet at high dilutions. If your pre-spray has not completed the emulsification process it will finish this process in the rinsing step.

2. In addition, an acidic neutralizer will neutralize the alkaline residues in the carpet fibers. It typically includes a low foaming surfactant with good wetting characteristics and will help hold the diverse ingredients in a stable solution. The right surfactant forms a brittle residue which, along with an added polymer, helps leave the carpet in a state where re-soiling issues are not a matter of concern.

3. Finally, there are ingredients that inhibit the corrosion of metal parts in your equipment.

Note: You do not need to turn off acidic emulsifying rinses at your truck when pre-spraying with the Hydroforce sprayer. Tests indicate that the pH of even moderate alkaline pre-sprays is not significantly affected and that the diverse cleaning additives in acidic emulsifying rinses balance any impact on the pH of the pre-spray.

Keep it simple and achieve superior results with the acidic rinse of your choice

Within the last decade, powdered acidic emulsifying rinses have been developed that have proven to be more effective cleaners based on their different levels of key ingredients.

Acidic neutralizing rinses are less expensive and the ingredients are not used up by hard water. Acidic emulsifying rinses have ingredients that soften water that is not available for rinsing.

Carpet scrubbing

If you do not use a water softening system then the logical choice is to use an acidic neutralizing rinse. Both types of acidic rinses can be used for cleaning upholstery with natural fibers and wool carpet and will soften fibers and limit browning. Acidic emulsifying rinses will more readily result in brighter and cleaner carpets while reducing the likelihood of other problems like wicking and re-soiling occurring.