Carpet Cleaner: Choosing The Right Cleaning Method


by Tim Olson

Carpets have covered our homes with elegance and luxurious style. It has been part of almost any home decoration and complements well with interior design. But no matter how much care you put with carpets, it will always accumulate dirt and stains, and cleaning becomes inevitable. It’s this cleaning chore that gives us headaches and so many problems. Most carpet cleaner experts will advice you in having your carpet professionally cleaned to get the best cleaning quality. Carpet cleaning equipment employs different methods in restoring the beauty of your carpet, and it is only proper that you have some idea on what these cleaning methods are.

Carpet cleaning methods are basically categorized into five. These include shampooing, dry foam, bonnet, dry powder and hot water extraction. Shampooing is the oldest carpet cleaning method. It is a process that employs some cleaning solution that turns to foam while it is being scrubbed by a rotary brush. This foam attracts dirt and soil, which will dry in a few hours into a manageable residue, then will be vacuumed until clean.

Dry foam cleaning makes use of dry foam for cleaning, unlike shampooing which is wet. It cleans in the same manner as shampooing, but since the carpet almost doesn’t get wet, it dries faster and therefore achieves faster cleaning time. These two methods make a lot of hard brushing action with the carpet and risk some damage to it. Some foam residue might also be left behind and attract more dirt which will cause more staining to the carpet over time. These are the issues that make shampooing and dry foam cleaning substandard methods.

The bonnet method gives a better fight with carpet dirt and stains, although still not good to enough for deep cleaning. This type uses very little water, which translates to faster cleaning times. A cleaning solution is dispensed from a spray nozzle that transforms the liquid into mist. This is applied to an absorbent pad connected to a rotary brush and goes over the carpet, just like using a mop. These absorbent pads are changed immediately upon collecting enough dirt and the process is repeated until the carpet is fully clean.

On the dry powder method, cleaning makes use of absorbent granules which contain cleaning agents that are distributed all over the carpet. These granules collect dust and dirt, and dissolves oil and grease. After drying, the granules must be vacuumed completely until no trace of the powder can be seen.

In the dry powder cleaning process, it is critical that the carpet be vacuumed thoroughly, with the use of a powerful vacuum cleaner, in order to collect all the dry powder residues in it. This residue is known to cause more problems when left for a long time in the carpet, and also may affect the air quality inside your home.

With the hot water extraction method, you are literally extracting stubborn dirt and soil from your carpet as hot water and cleaning agents are combined. They are sprayed into your carpet at high pressure and at the same time, a powerful vacuum sucks all the solution that contains all the dirt and grime from your carpet.

The process involves spraying a steam-like fine mist of cleaning solution mixed with hot water, which is immediately extracted by a specialized vacuum which transfers it to a holding tank that collects the dirty solution from the carpet. This method is very efficient in cleaning as it flushes out completely the deep seethed dirt, soil and other small foreign objects in the carpet.

Having a good overview on carpet cleaning equipment and the cleaning methods is very important in making a decision which method is right for you. This will all depend on your carpet type, budget, and the time and effort you are willing to spend in cleaning. But when all else fails, you can always get a professional carpet cleaner to do the job for you so that you are sure to get professional results, especially when you have a very expensive carpet.

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