Tips on Shampooing Carpets

Freshly shampooed carpet is softer to the touch.

If you have carpeting in a high-traffic area of your home, shampooing it at least twice a year will keep it clean and maintained. Purchasing or renting a carpet shampooer will save you money in comparison to paying a company to shampoo your carpets for you. If you do not know how to operate the machine, however, your carpets might not get as clean as if you paid a professional. Following basic tips on shampooing carpets will help ensure you do the job correct the first time.

Shampoo

Never use more shampoo than the bottle's instructions recommend. While you might be tempted to dump a little extra in to ensure your carpet gets clean, this will only work against you. Extra shampoo is difficult to wash out and leaves a residue on the deep fibers and padding of your carpet. This shampoo residue will attract dust particles that break down your carpet and leave it looking dirty.

Extraction

After shampooing, maximize the amount of water you draw out of your carpet by performing two extraction passes. Perform the first extraction pass with the water spray on to remove shampoo residue. Turn the water spray off when you perform the second extraction pass to remove excess moisture and prevent mildew. When you finish the second extraction pass, touch the carpet. It should feel damp, like a freshly wrung-out towel.

Speed

Move at a slow pace while shampooing your carpet. One of the most common carpet shampooing mistakes is to move at a quick pace, as though you are vacuuming. However, you must allow the water and shampoo time to penetrate the carpet and rinse away the dirt. Watch the water that is flowing up to the waste tank, if it is murky, not all of the dirt is extracted. Keep the shampooer over the same spot until the water running to the waste tank is clear.

Drying

Allow the carpet to dry for 12 hours without walking on it. This makes sure the carpet dries thoroughly and no mold or mildew builds up in the padding. Open the windows in the room and turn on any fans you own. Increasing the circulation of air will speed up water evaporation. If you return to the room after 12 hours and the carpet still feels damp to the touch, allow another 12 hours for it to dry. Once the carpet is dry, you may once again tread on the surface, but do not replace furniture for another 12 hours after it feels dry to the touch to ensure the padding retains no moisture.

References

• "Talking Dirty With the Queen of Clean"; Linda Cobb; 2004
• "Start Your Own Cleaning Business"; Jacquelyn Lynn; 2010