Carpet Cleaning
Vacuum cleaning is primarily the number one solution for cleaning our carpets. While vacuuming can remove surface dirt, it often fails to get deep into the fibers where the root of the problem lies. Steam Cleaning or Shampooing are then necessary to remove the oily, sticky soil that builds up in the fibers as a result of odors and dirt that is tracked in from outside.
If you can get to your carpet before it becomes heavily soiled, then cleaning it will become easier and more effective. There is a myth that cleaning your flooring before it is necessary will get it dirtier faster - this is untrue. In the average household your flooring should be thoroughly cleaned every 12 - 18 months depending on the number of people in a single household, and the amount of traffic your carpet receives.
Professional Cleaners
It is highly recommended that you have a professional periodically clean your floor. While we can do the job ourselves, professionals are not prone to make the same mistakes that someone with less experience can make easily. Carpet is a large investment, and securing and taking care of that investment would be in your best interest. Professionals carry with them the proper equipment for better dirt extraction, and carry more powerful cleaning units that are not readily available to consumers. Professionals know the exact cleaning agents to use, and the differences in carpet, construction, and fibers.
Doing it yourself
If you would like to save yourself the money of hiring a professional, cleaning your floor yourself is always an option. First you will either want to purchase a quality carpet cleaner or rent a cleaning machine. You should always check several cleaners first before you select one. Many of the cleaning machines available for rent are not very good quality and may actually damage your floor instead of cleaning it. The choice of the right vacuum is very important. There are some vacuums that do not do a very good job and leave residue behind when you finish using them. This not only does not help your floor, but prepares your floor to get dirtier. This not only defeats the purpose of cleaning your flooring but it's a waste of your time, money and energy. Always consider the following before cleaning your floors:
• Your cleaning equipment should have enough suction power to allow your flooring to dry within 12 hours of cleaning it.
• Never rent a cleaning machine from retail and grocery stores. These machines very rarely have the adequate power to extract the cleaning solution from the fibers, and this can potentially damage your floor due to over wetting.
• A common mistake made by beginners is over wetting their carpet. You want to avoid this at all costs to prevent damage to your floor. If the flooring gets too wet and is allowed to sit it can lead to mildew and bacteria growth in the fibers, or cause the backing to separate. Make sure when wetting the flooring you do so in small portions and then dry it as best as you can before moving on.
• Some carpets have stain resistant treatments added to the fibers, and for these types of carpets you have to maintain them with a product that is specialized for this specific type. If not taken proper care of the stain resistance will be impaired which will void your warranty.
• Never use cleaning or spotting solutions that contain bleach chemicals in its ingredients. This will cause discoloration to your carpets color.
• Avoid silicone based cleaners on your carpet.
• Aside from the suction drying from your cleaning machine, you can help carpets dry faster by using several fans. This helps to ventilate and air out the carpets faster, ensuring a better drying of the flooring. A dehumidifier can be used as well to pull any moisture in the air.
Steam Cleaning
Steam Cleaning is a highly recommended method for cleaning carpets according to experts. The process of steam cleaning consists of spraying a solution of water and a cleaning agent onto your flooring to extract large quantities of dirt deep in your carpets fibers. The vacuum used is quite powerful and stores all the collected dirt into a storage tank. There are many cleaners available for purchase in retail stores if you prefer steam cleaning your carpet yourself. Steam Cleaning is without a doubt one of the best methods for cleaning soiled carpets that you may be having a difficult time maintaining.
While vacuuming is the primary method of cleaning flooring, hiring professionals, shampooing, and steam cleaning based upon the level of dirt that has accumulated, will often show us great results when finished. While hiring a professional can be costly we can choose cleaning our flooring ourselves and this is not uncommon. The process is not difficult as long as we take the proper pre-cautions to protect our carpets from damage.
