Is it that time again, yep…need to have your carpet cleaned? Carpet cleaning has become a ritual for many homeowners throughout our communities and across the country. From home to home, carpet cleaners vacuum-up nasty soil and debris from homes and businesses. The objective, to clean and sanitize carpet, therefore removing soil and bacteria leaving a healthier environment for everyone. Does carpet cleaning work? The answer is yes, and that’s is the whole point to this post. During the carpet cleaning process, the solution extracted from the carpet is full soil, solid particles and bacteria. Again, the whole point to carpet cleaning is to do exactly that…remove soil and bacteria, therefore sanitizing the carpet. So, after the contaminated solution is extracted, where does it go? Let’s discuss it.

First, depending on local, state and federal laws, carpet cleaning companies only have a few options to choose from. In Texas for example, it’s legal to discharge waste water (NO URINE, FECES, CHEMICALS OR TOXINS OF ANY KIND ALLOWED IN THE WATER) into the yard. Again, this is just soiled water…nothing to damage the environment! Many homes needing a carpet cleaning have more than just soiled carpet from dirt. Some are needing Pet Urine & odor Remediation services due to soiled carpet from pet urine…you get the point! So, where does the waste water go? In most cases, according to state law, waste water containing urine or feces must be discharged into the sewer system for disposal. It can then be treated by a sewage treatment plant and disposed of properly! An on-site option for a carpet cleaner is to discharge the waste water via a toilet or sewage access port. The most common method is to use a toilet…simple and easy! So, does discharging waste water from a carpet cleaning negatively affect your sewage system?

The answer is NO! Here’s why, carpet cleaning systems are designed to filter out 98% of the solid contaminants from the carpet cleaning. The standard is 1-2 filter systems on a truck mounted system, depending on the manufacturer. For example, once the used solution is vacuumed up, it’s cycled through a waste hose into a waste tank. During this process, the waste water travels through a series of filters removing hair, paper clips, rubber bands or anything solid. The other 2% are super small particles such a sand grit…no fowl here! My point, discharging carpet cleaning waste water poses NO threat to your sewage system…none! Basically, toiletry items such a toilet paper and flushed baby wipes (which you NOT supposed to do) are far more of a concern than some dirty carpet water! Carpet cleaning companies spend thousands of dollars on cleaning systems to filter out and sanitize waste water. The systems require constant maintenance and cleaning to perform properly, but they do work well! The filter lint is disposed of according to local and state law.

As a carpet cleaning company, we understand the concern, but filtered, sanitized waste water does NOT harm your sewage system. After all, that’s what a sewage system is for! If not convinced, there are other options available for discharging waste water, but there might be a fee involved. So the next time your carpet tech needs to use your toilet for disposal, ask questions, but be assured it’s safe.