Did you know getting professional carpet cleaning services for your lovely carpet once in a while keeps your carpet fresh and makes it last longer? But, to get the right carpet cleaning service for your carpets, you should know about the different types of carpet cleaning services available in the market. Steam cleaning, bonnet cleaning, dry cleaning, encapsulation, and shampoo cleaning are the main services most carpet cleaners provide.
However, steam cleaning takes the lead. Steam cleaning or hot water extraction is seen as the best carpet cleaning method by carpet manufacturers as it deep cleans your carpet. It takes out the dust and dirt from the deepest fibers of your carpet and makes sure your carpet is completely dust-free.
However, steam cleaning might not always work, this is why professional carpet cleaners at Shiny Cleaners will be sharing the pros and cons of steam cleaning in this blog. We will also share some useful information about other carpet cleaning methods that you can choose for your carpets.
If you need carpet steam cleaning in Mississauga, Milton, Toronto, or Oakville, contact Shiny Cleaners at 289-236-0898 or email us at info@shinycleaners.ca.
Steam Cleaning
You may think steam cleaning uses real steam to clean your carpets, right? Fair enough, that’s how you could have made sense of the name. However, steam cleaning does not use actual steam while cleaning your carpets. Hot pressured water is used along with a carpet cleaning product to get rid of the stubborn stains and dirt from your carpet. How is steam cleaning done?
Shiny Cleaners professionally steam clean carpets in Mississauga, Milton, and Oakville with special love, and care. Our professional carpet cleaners use the following steps to deep clean your lovely plush carpet:
Remove Furniture
Carpet cleaners start with the carpet cleaning process by removing the furniture from your carpet. This is done to protect your furniture from getting destroyed during the carpet cleaning. However, since heavy furniture is difficult to remove from the room, carpet cleaners carefully wrap them with protection tapes and sheets so that they stay protected from water.
Vacuum
The second step involves vacuuming your carpet. This is done to get rid of any dirt and dust from the surface of your carpet. Removing excess dirt from the carpet’s surface prevents the forming of stains.
Stain Treatment
Now carpet cleaners get rid of any fresh stains from your carpet by blotting them out. This helps to prevent the stains from getting to the deeper fibers of the carpet and also prevents stains from reappearing after the cleaning process.
Carpet Cleaning Product
A carpet cleaning product is spread on the whole carpet. It is left to rest for 10-15 minutes. This is done so that the carpet fiber loosens a bit and lets go of dirt that is stuck between the fibers.
Hot Pressured Water
Once the carpet cleaning product settles in your carpet, carpet cleaners use a powerful cleaning machine that contains hot pressured water. This machine wipes off the cleaning product from your carpet. Also, all the dust and dirt from your carpet is wiped away with the hot pressured water. The temperature of the water is kept at 200 F.
Drying
After your carpet is completely relieved of all the dust, bacteria, and soap residue, your carpet is left alone to dry. Since a lot of water is used in steam cleaning, your carpet will take at least 5-6 hours to dry completely. At times, bigger carpets take around 12 hours to completely dry. During the drying process, we advise our customers to avoid any traffic on the wet carpet as wet carpets are more prone to stains.
Pros of Steam Cleaning
Deep Cleaning
Hot water extraction is the best deep cleaning method for carpet cleaning. It not only gets rid of the dust and grime from your carpets but also makes your carpets look fresh and all fluffed up. The detergent and hot water combination make sure your carpet gets the cleaning it deserves. Also, steam cleaning relieves your carpet from all the stubborn stains, dirt, and molds that no other cleaning method was able to do. The pressured hot water breaks lose the dirt from your carpet’s fiber and sweep it away.
No Detergent Residue
The shampoo cleaning method of carpet cleaning is detergent-based. This means that a good amount of carpet cleaning shampoo is rubbed on your carpet to get rid of dirt and stains. While shampoo cleaning may seem like a good cleaning method, it is not good for the life of your carpet. It leaves behind a lot of detergent residues on your carpet. The detergent then attracts bacteria and dirt to your carpet.
However, steam cleaning does not let any detergent residue on your carpet. It completely wipes away all the detergent from your carpet during the cleaning process.
No More Allergies
Some people can easily get allergic to the carpet shampoo used in shampoo cleaning because of its irritable scent and residue after carpet cleaning. However, this is not the case with steam cleaning. Hot water extraction gets rid of all the shampoo particles from your carpet during the carpet cleaning process with heavy powered cleaning equipment. This cleaning method works best for people who are vulnerable to scents as hot water extraction makes sure your carpet is completely clean and free from any unwanted things.
Carpet Restoration
Another advantage of getting your carpets steam cleaned is that it makes your carpet look new and fresh again. How? Since steam cleaning gets rid of all the dirt, dust, grime, and mold from the deep parts of your carpet, the carpet fiber gets lifted. This gives a new, fluffier, and fresh look to your carpet.
Cons of Steam Cleaning
Uses A lot of Water
Hot water extraction may seem to be the best method of carpet cleaning as it gets rid of the dirt that is embedded deep in your carpet. This method does deep clean your carpet, but steam cleaning uses a lot of water during the cleaning process. This excess water can stay behind your carpet’s back. While you may think that your carpet has completely dried off from the surface, however, the back of your carpet remains wet. Moisture attracts molds and bacteria that do not only destroy the fiber of your carpet but also make your carpet smell bad.
Takes Time to Dry
Since hot water extraction uses a lot of water, your carpet takes a lot of time to dry completely. Your carpet can at most take around 12 hours to dry, or even a day. Bigger carpets take the most time to dry completely. This restricts movement in your house as wet carpets can easily get stained and their fiber can easily be destroyed.
Not Good for Every Carpet
While steam cleaning may seem like a good carpet cleaning method, this is not the case with every carpet. Carpets that are made of jute and sisal cannot be cleaned with a lot of water as they can easily be damaged this way. This is why, before getting your carpets cleaned through the hot water extraction method, you should always consult your carpet cleaner for guidance regarding the best method of cleaning for your carpet.
Other Methods of Carpet Cleaning
If you feel hot water extraction is not the right carpet cleaning method for your carpet, you can go for any of the following carpet cleaning methods.
Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning is one of the most trusted cleaning methods after hot water extraction. Dry cleaning is also another method of deep cleaning as the cleaning equipment has a motorized brush that makes sure to take out all the dirt and mold from the deeper fibers of your carpet. One of the main advantages of dry cleaning is that your carpet dries quickly, and you do not have to wait a lot, unlike steam cleaning. This is why, dry cleaning is ideal in cases when you are short on time, and you need a quick carpet cleaning or stain removal.
Shampoo Cleaning
Shampoo cleaning is cleaning your carpet using carpet shampoo and a lot of water. The shampoo is scrubbed inside your carpet. It loosens the dirt and dust from your carpet’s fiber. Then powerful cleaning equipment is used to completely get rid of the dirt from your carpet. This method, however, uses a lot of water and there are high chances of shampoo residue being left on your carpet. The leftover shampoo makes your carpet rough and may attract dirt to it.
Encapsulation
Another deep cleaning method of carpet cleaning is encapsulation. A cleaning agent is spread over your carpet using a motorized brush. The cleaning agent is then left to sit on your carpet for some time. This is done so that it absorbs all the dirt particles present in your carpet. Then your carpet is cleaned with a powerful vacuum. So, you see, no water is used during the cleaning process. Another plus point for encapsulation carpet cleaning is that it is a bit cheaper than all other methods.
However, there is a chance that the cleaning agent stays behind on your carpet. This residue will make your carpet hard.
Bonnet Cleaning
Bonnet cleaning mainly cleans the surface of your carpet. It works well in cases where the stain is fresh, or the carpet needs a quick cleaning. A cleaning solution is spread over the carpet which is then brushed on the carpet using a motorized brush. While bonnet cleaning may be a quicker method of carpet cleaning, it only cleans your carpet from the surface instead of deep cleaning it. It will not get rid of deeper stains and dirt. Hotels can get this carpet cleaning service in cases of quick spill cleanup.
Final Verdict
Professional carpet cleaners at Shiny Cleaners believe steam cleaning is the best method of carpet cleaning for your lovely carpets. While steam cleaning uses a lot of water during the cleaning process and this can be dangerous for your carpet, however, completely drying off your carpets can prevent any molds or other damages.
Also, our carpet experts provide you with free carpet inspection services when you book an appointment with us. They will let you know whether steam cleaning is good for your carpet or not.