Carpets in a typical household should be cleaned professionally. The frequency of cleaning which is recommended at 12 to 18 months will depend on 3 aspects; whether the carpet is light or dark colour, the number of people in the house and their type and amount of activities.
Basically, there are four methods for cleaning carpets; the “Carpet Shampooing”, “Dry Powder Method”, the “Bonnet Cleaning”, and the “External Extraction Method”.
The theory behind the shampoo method is to generate lots and lots of foam, allow this foam to dry, have the dirt stick to the resulting residue and then on the next day, vacuum the dirt from the carpet.
Shampoos in reality are poor detergents. Often, they just simply bury the dirt. After a shampoo, the carpet only appears cleaner and brighter than it actually is because of the high levels of optical brighteners in the shampoo. Eventually, it will give the carpet a yellowish cast that can’t be removed anymore.
The “Dry Powder” method is usually called “dry cleaning” since no water is virtually used. In this method, the carpet is sprinkled with a dry absorbent compound and then, a machine will work this compound into the carpet. This compound or cleaner will attract and absorb the dislodged dirt then, it will be thoroughly vacuumed.
Vacuuming is very important in this method to ensure that most, if not all the cleaners will come out of the carpet. The most common problem with this method is the re-appearance of the white powder after a wet extraction cleaning. The advantage is, you don’t have to wait for it to dry because it didn’t get wet to begin with.
The Bonnet method is also known as “Carbonated Cleaning”. Although sometimes called “dry cleaning”, it actually is a mistake because with this method, water is used. Simply put, the bonnet method is just like spray buffing only in this case, it’s the carpet and not the hard floor.
This method for carpet maintenance, however, is not recommended by large carpet manufactures such as the Shaw Industries, especially on cut pile carpets. Aside from the fact that it has very limited capability for dirt removal, it also leaves lots of detergents in the pile because it doesn’t employ real extraction. Because of this, rapid re-soiling happens.
Finally, there’s the “External Extraction”® method.”Warm Water Extraction”, “Hot Water Extraction” or “Steam Cleaning”. Call it what you want, it’s one and the same, and it is the method that most carpet fibre producers and carpet manufacturers recommend.
Unlike the other three methods which are considered “light surface cleaning”, the “External Extraction”® method is the only cleaning method classified as “deep cleaning”. This method is also frequently called “steam” cleaning because of the fine spray of water that pushes the dirt off the carpet. The dirt will then be immediately sucked by the vacuum slot in front of the spray.
Steam cleaning can be done by a portable system brought into the house or by a truck mounted unit outside with only the floor tool and the hose brought in. In terms of a better cleaning job, the truck mounted system is definitely better because it’s more powerful as compared to the portable system. Additionally, it dries the carpet faster.
Health-wise, the truck-mounted is the ideal choice because humidity and dirty air are exhausted outside rather than being re-circulated around the house.
Choosing the right cleaning system for your carpet is very important. Some method defeats the whole purpose of cleaning, by leaving residues that promotes re-soiling. Other methods can actually shorten the life of your carpet by damaging its fibre. To make sure you get the most out of your carpet, check with the manufacturer for recommendations.
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