Wally’s Workshop

Carpets bring out the luxurious side of our homes. They are great additions to our interior decorations, especially when they complement well with the theme and design of our home. The problem is that cleaning carpets can be a burden because of how time-consuming and labor intensive it is. And doing it yourself poses a threat of doing some damage to your carpet. For this reason, asking the help of a professional carpet cleaner is highly recommended. With so much carpet cleaning equipment available in your neighborhood, it is good that you equip yourself with some basic knowledge on the carpet cleaning methods.

There are generally five methods of carpet cleaning. These are shampooing, dry foam, bonnet, dry powder and hot water extraction. Shampoo method is the traditional way of cleaning carpets. It involves pouring a foam solution into the carpet and using a rotary brush to induce formation of foam, which traps dirt and soil. Once dry, the foam residue is collected using a vacuum cleaner.

Dry foam cleaning makes use of dry foam for cleaning, unlike shampooing which is wet. It cleans in the same manner as shampooing, but since the carpet almost doesn’t get wet, it dries faster and therefore achieves faster cleaning time. These two methods make a lot of hard brushing action with the carpet and risk some damage to it. Some foam residue might also be left behind and attract more dirt which will cause more staining to the carpet over time. These are the issues that make shampooing and dry foam cleaning substandard methods.

Bonnet cleaning, also sometimes called dry cleaning, can be done by spraying some bonnet cleaning solution into the carpet, and then an absorbent pad is attached to a rotary floor machine which is driven into the carpet for cleaning. Sometimes the absorbent pad gets sprayed with the solution instead of the carpet. These pads are used until it can no longer collect dirt and replaced for repeating the process until the carpet is fully clean.

With the dry powder method, it is literally using a dry powder containing cleaning chemicals and ingredients which is sprinkled generously all over the carpet. The process of brushing the carpet also applies to this method in order to make the powder attract all the dirt and soil accumulated in the surface. After drying at a very impressive rate, vacuuming will then take place to achieve the desired cleanliness of the carpet.

The only catch with this cleaning method is that the carpet needs to be vacuumed really well, using a high-quality vacuum cleaner, to ensure that the cleaning powder is fully removed. This can cause some problems over time when some are left in the carpet, and also affects the quality of the air in your home.

With the hot water extraction method, you are literally extracting stubborn dirt and soil from your carpet as hot water and cleaning agents are combined. They are sprayed into your carpet at high pressure and at the same time, a powerful vacuum sucks all the solution that contains all the dirt and grime from your carpet.

The process involves spraying a steam-like fine mist of cleaning solution mixed with hot water, which is immediately extracted by a specialized vacuum which transfers it to a holding tank that collects the dirty solution from the carpet. This method is very efficient in cleaning as it flushes out completely the deep seethed dirt, soil and other small foreign objects in the carpet.

It is essential to be able to learn these carpet cleaning methods that are commonly used. With so many carpet cleaning equipment available in the market, it is good that you have an understanding how they work and clean your carpet. This will also help you in making a decision whether to clean your carpet yourself or to get a professional carpet cleaner to get the job done effectively.

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