Tips for Starting a Successful Business

Comparing Steam And Chemical Carpet Cleaning

13 October 2016 by Brianna Cole

Carpet cleaning is essential to reduce the amount of allergens within your home, and it also ensures that your home's floors look clean and tidy. However, there are two main types of professional carpet cleaning: steam and chemical. While both seek to reduce the amount of dirt and other contaminants in your carpeting, they do so in different manners, and as such have distinctive upsides and drawbacks. Understanding what both types of carpet cleaning have to offer can help you choose the one that best suits your needs.

Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaning is an extremely effective method of cleaning carpets. It makes use of superheated water that is passed through the fibers of the carpet, completely soaking the entire fabric. By doing so, steam cleaning is able to remove the vast majority of dirt and other materials which may have built up in your carpet. Additionally, steam cleaning does not make use of any harsh chemicals, which means that it does not pose a health hazard and will not damage the coloring of your carpets.

However, steam cleaning can take quite a while to perform, as the carpet is completely soaked and thus needs to dry afterwards—a process that can take several hours. Additionally, if the carpet is not allowed to dry properly, steam cleaning can facilitate the growth of mold within your carpet, which is a serious health hazard and can cause physical damage to your carpeting.

Chemical Cleaning

Chemical cleaning, like the name would suggest, makes use of a series of chemical cleaners to remove stains and dirt from your carpet. Chemical cleaning uses much less water than steam cleaning does, which means that your carpet does not need to be left for several hours or overnight to dry, and there is no risk of mold growth occurring due to improper drying.

However, as chemical cleaning doesn't make use of as much water, it is not able to penetrate as deeply into your carpeting. This means that your carpet will not be cleaned as effectively, especially if there's significant amounts of ground-in stains and dirt. Furthermore, the chemicals used in chemical carpet cleaning are not always completely removed from the carpet afterwards, which means that your family and pets may be exposed to trace amounts of cleaning chemicals. While this may not be a serious health concern, it is still something to keep in mind, especially for those with allergies.

Contact a carpet-cleaning company in your area to choose the right cleaning method for your needs.

Share

Search