Home Carpet Cleaning Guide

Home carpet cleaning is a chore that we must all perform occasionally, removing ground in dirt, stubborn stains, and the built up detritus that a vacuum cleaner cannot touch. Many people, especially those with expensive carpets, elect to hire professional carpet cleaners, but home carpet cleaning is something that anyone can do if quality is not imperative.

The are four common carpet cleaning methods, each with its own list of advantages and disadvantages, depending largely on the type of carpet, its quality, the amount of soiling and, of course how much you are prepared to pay. Needless to say, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your carpet and for the carpet cleaning products, ensuring that you don’t cause permanent and irreversible damage to your prized carpet.

DIY Carpet Shampooing

The conventional carpet cleaning method is carpet shampooing, which involves working shampoo solution into the carpet fibres with a aggressive brushing machine.

The Advantages of Home Carpet Shampooing:
Carpet machines are easy to hire at a reasonable price.

The Disadvantages of Home Carpet Shampooing:
The brushes can damage the carpet pile, so be wary with delicate carpets. Rotary carpet shampooers are very aggressive and should only be used on tough, commercial carpets
Carpet is often left very wet. Carpet shampooing can leave dirt trapped underneath the carpet fibers, so make sure that you give the carpet a thorough vacuuming afterwards.
Sensitive carpets may be damaged by the water used in the machine, rotting the underlay or causing the backing fabric to shrink.

Steam Cleaning Carpet

Steam cleaning uses hot water to penetrate into the fibres of the carpet, lifting dirt and grease and braking down stubborn stains. This process sprays a cleaning solution that is removed by a powerful vacuum wand. There a several levels of steam cleaning: 1. A small portable machine. 2. A small truck mounted machine and the most superior large truck mounted machines which by far give the best carpet cleaning results.

The Advantages of Steam Cleaning carpets:
Steam cleaning deep cleans the carpet and removes the most stubborn of stains, making it perfect for generally soiled carpets.
The process leaves no resoling residue when done correctly with pre spray.
Steam cleaning is recommended by the worlds largest carpet manufacturers

The Disadvantages of Steam Carpet Cleaning:
Some carpet cleaning machines do not have enough performance to vacuum up enough moisture leaving carpet too wet, so make sure that you are carefull to prevent nasty accidents and scalding. When using the portable steam cleaning it produces a lot of dirty vapor so always wear a safety mask.

Carbonated Carpet Cleaning

Carbonated carpet cleaning uses a machine similar to the rotary buffers used for polishing hard floors. The operator sprays detergent onto the carpet and the rotary pads of the machine agitate the solution and scour the carpet, removing dirt and stains. The method uses carbonated water for extra cleaning action.

The Advantages of Carbonated Carpet Cleaning:
The process is quick and easy, so is perfect for large areas.
The machine used is exactly the same as for hard floor buffing, so it is easy and cheap to hire

The Disadvantages of Carbonated Carpet Cleaning:
Carbonated carpet cleaning is very destructive and should only ever be used on specially toughened carpets.
This method leaves a lot of dirty residue, so vacuum the carpet afterwards, or this dirt will be ground straight back in.
Carbonated cleaning is not as efficient on long pile carpets, as dirt and stains can remain just out of reach of the scouring action.

Home Carpet Cleaning Summary

Steam cleaning is the least intrusive of all of the methods, and is recommended by most manufacturers, although you should always check the literature or contact the maker. Carpet cleaning is best performed at 1 – 2 year intervals, depending upon carpet color and the amount of use.

Between steam cleaning, carbonated cleaning, or carpet shampooing treatments, regular applications of carpet shampoo should keep the dirt under control. Of course, if you have a prized Persian rug or an expensive Wilton carpet, it may be best to call in the professionals from the start! Otherwise, home carpet cleaning can be a great way to save money.