About Carpet Cleaners

Carpets are made from a wide range of different materials, most commonly including sisal and synthetic fibers. Carpets tend to absorb dust and harbor allergens that can cause disease, and they can be hard to maintain and keep clean. However, hiring carpet-cleaning services can be a costly affair for day-to-day carpet cleaning. It is far more economical to use one of the numerous carpet cleaners available in the market today. These carpet cleaners fall in one of 2 major cleaning systems: the dry carpet cleaner system and the wet carpet cleaner system.

Dry

The dry carpet cleaner systems are special extraction machines, which use a special absorbent chemical that loosens the dirt before it is vacuumed. They have specially-made, built-in brushes and nozzles for this purpose. Another way of cleaning carpets is where a special shampoo is spread over the carpet and, after it dries, a machine is passed over the carpet and sucks out the dirt.

Wet

The wet carpet cleaner system relies on water. It involves the use of carpet cleaning machines that apply a liquid cleaning solution into the carpet before sucking it back along with the dirt. In instances where the carpet is especially dirty or heavily stained, specially-equipped carpet cleaners with water-heating chambers are used to inject steam along with cleaning chemicals into the carpet. This loosens the dirt and helps clears the stains. The carpet is vacuumed thereafter to suck out all the dirt.

Types

There are 2 common types of vacuum carpet cleaner machines. Canister vacuum cleaners are designed for regular cleaning. They are equipped with attachments of convenient lengths to clean awkward areas such as carpeted staircases. Extractor cleaners, on the other hand, are specifically designed for deep cleaning, and make use of steam and specially formulated detergents. They are especially effective carpet cleaners for rugs and thick carpets, as well as heavily-stained carpets.

Features

Carpet cleaners come in different sizes and offer a range of features. Basic carpet cleaners come with brushes that scrub the carpet when cleaning is in progress, while more sophisticated cleaners have rotary heads, assorted brushes and vacuum extraction slots with an equal number of spraying jets. Some cleaners come with adjustable handles that allow the user to be upright during cleaning. These are suitable for high traffic areas.

Considerations

There are a number of factors to consider before deciding the most suitable carpet cleaner to meet specific needs. Depending on the frequency and intensity of cleaning periods, a simple criteria is to evaluate whether a cleaner is safe to use, friendly to the user, sturdy and able to withstand tough conditions and powerful enough to suck out stubborn dirt. For light duties such as home use, some strong but lightweight cleaners (which are not very costly) are highly recommended.