Before You Use Carpet Cleaning Chemicals On Your Carpet

Carpet cleaning chemicals have become an issue of some sort for various reasons ranging from safety , effectiveness and others.

Carpet cleaning chemicals are not altogether something to be overly apprehensive about. You may just need to understand it better, the issue around it, how best to apply it and get to know the best of the products for residential and commercial places.

What are Carpet Cleaning Chemicals?
Carpet is the most common floor covering type. And can really be beautifying and comfortable to use. With usage, the inevitable happens, that is, it gets dirty and needs cleaning.. The carpet cleaning chemicals are compound mixtures used to clean carpets. They are mainly used for dry carpet cleaning (chemical carpet cleaning). Some common ingredients contained in chemical carpet cleaners include lye, formaldehyde, disinfectants, acids and artificial fragrance. Some which are claimed to be trade secret may not be listed on the labels.
Carpet cleaning chemicals come in different groups such as, green cleaning /micro –splitters, deodorizers, spot & stain removers, protectors, problem solver additives, extracting agents, Carpet pre-sprays.

How to Choose the Right Cleaning Chemicals
This brings us to issues of safety and effectiveness. As I said earlier the cleaning chemicals are grouped. Therefore your choice will depend on what you want to achieve. To achieve maximum success, purchase the type meant for a particular job. As with many chemical products, they have contents that may be toxic and not healthy for consumption especially by children and pets. Sometimes some of their contents are not listed on the label, making the users unaware of a possible harmful substance. Though the manufacturers will be expected to place health warnings.
With that said, it does not mean that all chemicals for carpet cleaning are harmful, it simply means that you should apply some caution in dealing with these cleaning products. Check the label list first for any blacklisted (prohibited) chemical such as tributyl tin, tetrachlororthylene , hydrofluoric acid etc. There are also Eco-friendly (green) carpet cleaning solution available as alternative. They are primarily plant based. Brand names like Bi-O-Kleen, Capture , NatureClean are some green cleaning solution names.

Are Carpet Cleaning Chemicals Safe for use
The safety depends on the chemical content. During the application of the chemicals, apply safety measures like use of hand gloves, protective gears and goggles. Do not smell the chemicals. Ensure sufficient flow of air in the room to reduce inhaling toxic fumes. Try limiting the usage of carpet cleaning chemicals to “quick-fix” cleaning of very dirt highly trafficked parts of the carpet as against using it for the whole carpet. Vacuum thoroughly to reduce the chances of residual remnants to barest minimum.

Enjoy Your Carpet

I think the underlying interest is having a satisfactory clean carpet using a process you are comfortable with issues around it. There is a place for carpet cleaning chemicals but the milder the better . Try as much as possible to use green carpet cleaning solutions as alternatives where possible . Then use steam cleaning to do major carpet cleaning . It is still the process that most people and most carpet manufacturers can relate to comfortably.

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Important Facts about Dry Carpet Cleaning

Sometimes people wonder if, when, where to use dry carpet cleaning. They are apprehensive about the effectiveness and safety of dry cleaning. This article will discuss on issues relating to effectiveness, proper usage and safety of dry carpet cleaning. I hope it will help you make up your mind about dry cleaning.

Dry carpet cleaning Method

By its name, this stands for a method of cleaning that doesn’t require water. The main ingredient consists of a dry carpet cleaning compound containing moisture, absorbent, detergent and solvent. The cleaning powder is sprinkled on the carpet, and then the moisture dissolves the soil which then mixes with the solvent and detergent. The mixture is attracted and absorbed by the absorbent which is then vacuumed.

There are other cleaning methods sometimes referred to as dry cleaning. But in strict sense they can’t really be called dry cleaning since water is used. Dry carpet cleaning can be used on all carpet fiber depending on the chemical content of the absorbent cleaner (find out from a local carpet cleaning professional which will be okay for your carpet). It is mostly recommended for silk, wool and color-bleeding carpets.

Do It Yourself

The carpet should be vacuumed first. The cleaning mixture is poured on the carpet. Then worked into the carpet with a brush or vibrating machine (which you can rent). It is left to stay for sometime depending on how dirty the carpet is. The moisturized cleaner mixes with the dirt and soil and then vacuumed with a vacuum cleaner.

In case of stains, you should use stain treatment first. Be sure to verify that the cleaning mixture will be right for your carpet before using it. You can test it on a scrap carpet or a small area of the carpet that won’t be noticed.

Should I Use This Method On My Carpet?

The main case against dry carpet cleaning is on its inability to do a satisfactory cleaning. No matter how much you vacuum the carpet, there is always residual reminants in the carpet. This process can be likened to pouring cleaning powder on your hair then using hair brush or towel to rub it into the hair then vacuum off. How really clean is your hair?

There is also the problem of re-soiling due to soap and detergent residue. It can really be cumbersome getting loads of cleaning powder for a whole carpet cleaning.

I don’t know about you, but I am uncomfortable with the possibility of children and pets getting to this residue no matter how safe the manufacturers claim the compound is.

I still think there are places and situations dry carpet cleaning method can be used. As I said earlier, it can be recommended for silk and wool carpets where constant use of steam cleaning can damage and over stretch the carpet.Then use other cleaning options when it is real dirty.

It is also recommended for carpets that run color. Dry carpet cleaning can serve as a "quick fix" for highly trafficked areas of the carpet before any major cleaning can be done.

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