Home And Gardens Advice

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 method is almost the same as shampooing, except the foam is dry, much like a whipping cream. It functions the same dirt collecting action, but dries much faster, and the foam residue can be vacuumed quicker too. Both the dry foam and shampoo methods are considered inferior cleaning methods as they do not deeply clean the carpet and attract more dirt because of the foam. They also risk damaging the carpet because of the hard brushing involved.

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.

Next is the dry powder method. As the name implies, it uses dry powder that contains the cleaning agents, which is also distributed all over the carpet. A rotary brush then goes over the carpet, which forces the dirt and soil to get collected by the cleaning powder. This method dries the fastest, at an astounding rate, after which the residue is also vacuumed until the carpet is fully cleaned.

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.

The hot water extraction method is by far the best method of cleaning as compared to the previous four. It also known as steam cleaning although there is really no steam involved, but instead uses fine sprays of water. This is usually what carpet cleaner experts recommend because of its deep cleaning capabilities, cleaning the carpet thoroughly.

The cleaning solution is mixed with hot water and sprayed directly onto the carpet which forms a steam-like texture. This is simultaneously vacuum-collected into the equipment’s tank which holds the dirty solution coming from the carpet. In this process, dirt and soil are completely rinsed off the carpet, both the surface and inner areas.

Knowing these carpet cleaning methods is just as important as choosing your carpet cleaning equipment. Having some knowledge on them also helps you judge which method will best fit your carpet. Depending on your budget, and how willing you are to spend some effort in cleaning, you may be able to choose from the above methods. Remember than if you’re having a hard time doing things yourself, just get a professional carpet cleaner and get the job done right.