Carpet Cleaning Methods-Do You Know The Right Method To Use?

Maintaining a clean nice looking carpet is the delight of everyone that uses carpet flooring but once the ugly stains, dull appearance and dustiness begin to show, the question becomes-Which of the carpet cleaning methods do I use to get back my bright, nice looking carpet?

Again leaving the carpet dirty also causes damage due to the abrasive effect of the dust, sand and other soiling materials. Therefore carpet cleaning is important both for aesthetic purpose and durability. Now let us examine the common carpet cleaning methods available.

Common Carpet Cleaning Methods:
There are no 100% best carpet cleaning methods. Each method of carpet cleaning has its own pros and cons.

The popularity of a method determines the availability of its cleaning materials.

a. Steam Carpet Cleaning (Deep Extraction Method):
This is the most popular among all the carpet cleaning methods. This is because it does a near to natural cleaning. A deep down cleaning is obtained using this method. Liquid detergent is sprayed thoroughly, and then followed by a controlled injecting of hot water (of about 150 degrees). The solution is force down the carpet pile, which dissolves the dirt and soil(organic and inorganic material that stick to the carpet fiber) and then extracted with a strong vacuum machine.

This is the carpet cleaning method recommended by almost all carpet manufacturers but critics point out to the fact that there is always the problem of overwetting which can damage the carpet fibers , carpet backing and cause mildew . In as much this is a point, it can still be averted by using a professional carpet cleaning company for the exercise at least for first time/or being extra careful incase you decide do it yourself.

Another criticism of this method of carpet cleaning is that you will need to used it in conjunction with other cleaning method to get a good result in places where there is heavy traffic and the carpet is really soiled thereby requiring some form of scrubbing . (Learn more about Steam Carpet Cleaning)

b. Rotary Method:

In this carpet cleaning method, carpet cleaner is sprayed from a tank and then worked into the carpet with rotary nylon brush. This brush scrubs the carpet and then a wet vacuum is used to extract the dirty solution. You may have to use an a strong extracting machine to effect perfect vacuuming of the solution. The brush can damage the delicate carpet fiber.

c. Foam Method:

Here, very dense and thick foam is applied on the carpet surface and then worked into the carpet by a revolving brush. This loosen the soil and dirt and subsequently extracted using a vacuum. The carpet dries fast. Defoamer is added to the vacuum system to break up the thick foam .

The use of foam reduces the amount of wetting of the fiber but the brush can damage delicate carpet fibers. This method works for removing dirt at the surface and does not get deep down the carpet pile.

d. Bonnet Method:

Liquid cleaner is thoroughly sprayed on the carpet. The floor machine is used to spins the absorbent bonnet (somewhat like giant towel made of cotton or rayon pad) on the carpet . The bonnet scrubs, cleans and absorbs the dirty solution.

Overwetting is very remote but the carpet cleaning method is superficial and not effective if the carpet is really dirt and the spinning of the bonnet can damage carpet fiber.

e. Dry Carpet Cleaning:

Here absorbent dry powder is applied to the carpet then gently worked into the carpet fiber using a cleaning towel or machine and then vacuumed. It is near impossible to completely vacuum all the powder. Remnants of the chemical cleaner causes fast resoiling . This method is perceived as being unnatural for a cleaning exercise.

Learn more about Dry Carpet Cleaning

What I Suggest You Do:

The method you choose among the available carpet cleaning methods will depend on the level of soiling of your carpet and availability of the cleaning materials.

In case of heavy soiling settle for steam cleaning . This will get the work done for you but be careful not to overwet the carpet . Sometimes the steam method have to be used in conjunction with one other carpet cleaning method in cases the carpet is highly stained due to heavy traffic . In such situation the rotary method can be used to affect some scrubbing of the carpet.

If you have a relatively new carpet with light to average soiling then there is really no need using steam cleaning . In such case , use lighter cleaning methods like foam or bonnet method. I personally do not recommend dry cleaning(dry chemical cleaning) for the whole carpet. It is best used for highly localized situations where you may want to clean a highly trafficked , soiled area of the carpet . Learn more about Dry Chemical Cleaning Method.