Keeping your home’s carpets cleaned can actually prolong their life, as matted fibers that are covered in built-up dirt and dust may become permanently worn down, so you then need to replace that carpeting sooner rather than later. Carpet fibers also hold irritants and allergens, including dust, pet hair and dander, human hair and shed skin cells, and even insect droppings. Keeping your home’s carpeting clean can then be good for your health!
When it is time to have your home’s carpets cleaned, you may not realize all the options available to you, other than standard shampooing. Note a few of those options here, so you can discuss these with a carpet shampooing specialist, and decide which is right for your home.
As the name implies, a steam cleaning is done without harsh shampoos or detergents. Pressurized hot water is applied to carpets, either as a simple spray or with a thick brush that helps remove ground-in dirt, and is then extracted.
Steam cleaning is good for those who are especially sensitive to the chemicals found in carpet shampoos and detergents. Steam cleaning is also typically a more affordable option than standard shampooing, and it may help to restore the nap of overly worn and flattened carpet fibers.
A dry foam cleaning involves a type of foam that is sprayed over the carpet, and then allowed to sit for several minutes. This foam will absorb dirt, oils, and other debris on the carpet, so they can then be easily extracted. In some cases, the dry foam might be brushed into the carpet, so that it can remove ground-in dirt, or more easily clean taller and thicker fibers.
A dry powder works much the same way; this powder is spread over the carpeting and will trap and lock dirt and other debris. It may also be brushed into the carpet before it is extracted. Both these methods allow you to walk on the carpeting much sooner than a wet cleaning method, which may require hours for the carpet to dry thoroughly.
Bonnet cleaning uses a powder detergent, which is spread onto the carpet with a tool covered in what looks like a towel. This towel, or bonnet, pushes the detergent into the carpet fibers, where it clings to dirt and dust. The bonnet then absorbs the detergent from the carpeting.
The drawback of bonnet cleaning is that it often just reaches surface dirt, and doesn’t clean the padding under the carpet. Bonnet cleaning may not be recommended for carpets with pet stains or for matted carpets, which typically need a more thorough cleaning.