Despite your best efforts, it’s inevitable that after years of walking on and the occasional spilled drink or food, your carpet is now in need of some TLC. But with a multitude of carpet cleaning methods out there all claiming to be best for your carpet, how do you know which to choose? With this in mind, we’re going to take the two most popular methods, (dry cleaning and steam cleaning) and compare them.
Steam Cleaning
In the steam cleaning vs dry cleaning debate it’s important to clear something up from the start. When it comes to the term ‘steam cleaning’ it isn’t actually steam that cleans your carpets. Some people are wrongly under the impression that because it’s a ‘steam clean’ it’s the steam that does the actual cleaning and therefore doesn’t require the need for chemicals. This is a myth. Here’s how steam cleaning works….
After dry vacuuming, a special machine sprays detergent onto your carpet where hot water is then injected at speed into the carpet fibres. The hot water then activates the detergent to ensure a deep down clean. After the right amount of hot water has been dispersed, a powerful suction not only dries the carpet, but removes all the dirt, debris, and bacteria along with the cleaning residue, to reveal a carpet that not only looks fresh but feels fresh too. Ultimately many companies prefer to use the term ‘hot water extraction’, as this gives a better account of the procedure, but in reality they’re the same thing.
Getting back to chemicals, while some cleaning companies may use chemicals that considered harsh, many others will use substances that are environmentally friendly and safe for humans and pets alike, so it’s worth asking the question.
Dry cleaning
Again the term dry cleaning can be sightly misleading because professionals will use a small amount of moisture on your carpet to break down the solvents needed to clean it. In essence dry cleaning works by placing chemicals onto the carpet which when activated, is then left for a while to break down the dirt, dust, and bacteria particles in your carpet. A powerful hoover then vacuums up the powder or compound along with any debris.
The main advantage of dry cleaning is that because of the small amount of moisture used, carpets are dry quickly, meaning they can be used virtually right away. However there is evidence to suggest that dry cleaning, although giving a great surface clean, doesn’t give that deep-down, feel-good clean that hot water extraction does. That said, there is far less risk of over-watering a carpet which can cause major problems such as shrinkage and wicking issues. So that’s the trade-off.
For those that have light staining and need to use their carpet immediately after cleaning, then you might want to opt for dry cleaning. Alternatively for those residential and commercial premises who need a thorough deep down clean and can wait 30 minutes or so before their carpet is fully dry then we feel that hot water extraction (steam cleaning) will deliver the best results.
At Carpet Cleaning Kings, we’ve been professionally cleaning carpets using the hot water extraction method for many years. As such we have the experience and the knowledge to handle any carpet, no matter how badly soiled it is. Why not contact us on 1300 7000 75 and put us to the test? We guarantee you’ll be suitably impressed with the service.
