Why Citrus-Based Cleaning?

People can be filthy and gross! Our skin is oily. We constantly shed dead skin cells 24/7. We drop food and spill drinks. We even have four-legged family members that have dander for days and “go” anywhere they want.

EVERYTHING ends up in your carpet and on your furniture! It is sticky and oily, which means your vacuum can’t pick it ALL up. So eventually, your carpets and upholstery need to be “deep” cleaned.

When you clean something—your car, the laundry, even yourself—it is more effective and easier with soap or  some kind of detergent. Carpet and upholstery are no different. Before being cleaned, they need to be pretreated.

Pretreatment is the key to this article and the “secret sauce” behind citrus-based cleaning. You see, when people talk about “carpet cleaning detergents”, they are usually referring to the pretreatment.

Most carpet cleaner’s pretreatments contain butyl, a toxic chemical that is very good at dissolving the sticky, oily, organic matter found in your carpet and upholstery. Since butyl is cheap and effective, it’s the most commonly used pretreatment in the carpet cleaning industry. As a result, most professional carpet cleaners come into your home or business and—without asking you first or explaining what they’re doing—start spraying your carpet and upholstery with butyl-based pretreatment.

Later, you wonder why you get headaches while playing on the floor with your kids or sitting in your favorite recliner. You’re actually having a reaction to butyl-based pretreatment that soaked into your carpet and leached into your furniture.

D-limonene is all-natural, completely harmless, affordable, outrageously effective and—most important—butyl-free. It comes from citrus fruit like oranges, limes, lemon and grapefruit. D-limonene smells like fresh oranges.

D-limonene cuts through anything sticky, greasy or oily, so it’s perfect for carpet and upholstery cleaning. In fact, it’s actually a BETTER degreaser than butyl.

For you, there are multiple benefits.

1. When you hire Citrus Carpet Cleaning, you never have to worry about toxic chemicals in your home. My citrus-based cleaning agent is the only pretreatment I use for carpet and upholstery.
2. Citrus-based cleaning leaves carpet and upholstery feeling soft and fluffy, because it’s so gentle. Traditional pretreatments made from butyl are harsh and aggressive. They chemically fry your carpet and upholstery, leaving them stiff and crunchy after cleaning.
3. My pretreatment is so gentle, it never damages the stain resistance of your carpet or upholstery, which means they stay cleaner, longer. In contrast, butyl strips the built-in stain resistance of your carpet and upholstery, making them re-soil quickly—often within mere days.
4. And finally, there are environmental benefits. Butyl is a terrible chemical that harms people, plants, animals and waterways. I would never use such a chemical when safer, more effective alternatives exist. My citrus-based pretreatment and spotters are just as safe for the environment as they are for you, your family and your pets.