OK, now I'd like you to consider the amount of sand / grit / and what would have been "dry soil " within carpets, that is now in your return tank, having finished cleaning a house of carpets.
If you have worked in the recommended way, ie, against the grain, or across the grain, at 45%, left then right, how much do you think has been left behind ?
Very little, I'd suggest and if you are thorough, methodical and disciplined, there will be virtually no difference, between the result you've achieved and the result you would have achieved, had you vacuumed before cleaning.
Always assuming, you have presprayed and extracted correctly and with quality products
The argument for vacuuming, is that around 80% of soiling within carpets, is dry soiling, which has to be extracted before introducing a wetting agent................but what does the wetting agent do?
Well....it reduces surface tension and emulsifies the soiling, allowing it to be extracted through the powerfull suction from the extraction machine.
I see the same carpets and clients year after year and have done so for over twenty years. If my approach was flawed, it would have been pretty obvious.
I'm not knocking anyone elses approach here and I'm well aware that everyone has their standard and some will need to follow the pre vac' route, but for me and I'm sure many others, it's time consuming and not as essential as some might believe.
There is the odd occasion when I do find the need to vacuum, but in most cases it's around the skirtings, or to pick up animal fur / hair.
