Comparison of Steam Carpet Cleaning to Shampoo Carpet Cleaning

Tight-knit carpet can hold in a lot of dirt.

You can clean your carpet in a number of ways. Selecting an appropriate method requires factoring in how many people use the area and how dirty the carpet actually is. This will make the process simpler.

Methods

Steam-cleaning involves injecting water and detergents directly into the carpet and then extracting them, along with the dirt and oils, using a wet surface vacuum. Dry foam cleaning places cleansing foam into the carpet followed by agitation. You then vacuum away the foam and dirt.

Dry Time

Because steam-cleaning requires a lot of water, it can take up to eight hours to fully dry. On the other hand, since dry foam cleaning only requires partial saturation of the carpet, it can dry in less than an hour. This is most appropriate for high-traffic areas as it will minimize the time the carpet must remain unused.

Effectiveness

Steam-cleaning is the most effective way to clean carpet as it removes almost all soils and can help re-twist the fibers, making the carpet appear new. Dry foam cleaning is fairly effective, but some foam and dirt will be left behind no matter how well you vacuum afterwards. In many cases, you will need to steam-clean the carpet after many dry foam cleanings to extract the excess foam and dirt.

References

• Allergy Consumer Review: Carpet Cleaning Methods
• Like New Cleaning: Steam Vs. Dry