[jasonl]

It hitting a carpet with temperatures over 40 c a bad thing ? Especially wool since in a washing machine wool is washed at 40c ?

[Mike Halliday]

A washing machine  keeps the wool in a solution  of 40dgrees for 20 minutes with no problem , I can't see how using the same on a carpet will give any adverse reactions .

I have used 95 degrees plus on wool but it stayed at the temp for about 2 seconds once it was on the carpet.

I think the problem could be on twisted fibres that are heat set,  so could 'unravel' with high heat

[Robin Ray]

I was told high heat can frazzle the cell walls of wool if left in place for any length of time. A bit like holding you hand over a flame for any length of time burns your hand. It can also cause irreversible shrinkage if the fabric is over wet in the first place. However as Mike said the way we clean the extraction solution is only in contact with the fibers for a small amount of time before it is extracted. Therefore it is  more like moving your hand quickly through a flame, you may feel some heat but it doesn't burn.
I frequently clean wool with very hot steaming water and never had a problem.

[Buckland]

Jason/mike
I have been using high heat on carpets for years with no heat related problems on carpets as far as I know* and it definitely helps with cleaning (and marketing) and more recently have been doing it stupidly hot with a diesel fired coil-equipped TM - so much so that I must be risking burning myself sometimes if a valve snapped/broke for instance - when I have help I tend to turn the temp down -  and have recently fitted some stainless steel fittings now instead of brass - I really should turn the temp down tbh but the sound of the steam escaping from the jets does become a bit habit forming! Customers like to see the heat as well it really does impress them. The vacuumed solution coming off the carpet heats up the metal on the wand to such an extent you have to hold the heat shield part which becomes loose on all my wands. Also I use an SX15 with high pressure and steam and it will clean T & G with very little chems.

just my take!

dave

* I have not seen any correlation between working really hot and an increase in "ripplers" imo if they are going to ripple they will ripple no matter how hot or cold you work

[Simon Gerrard]

The boffins will tell you that high heat damages  the cuticles in wool carpets, but then so does encrusted dirt, better out than in, I say😃

Simon