Carpet Cleaning: Shampoo vs. Steam Cleaning in Coon Rapids MN

Someone looking to have their carpet professional cleaned may be faced with a question from the carpet cleaners: shampoo or steam cleaning. This article will hopefully assist you in making a decision on which method is best for your carpet cleaning coon rapids mn needs.

Shampooing is similar to washing your hands. The soap is there to attract the dirt and then removed by washing the soap (and consequently the dirt) down the drain. Carpet cleaners in coon rapids mn must be careful that the products being used do not cause over-wetting or over-shampooing. Over-wetting is when too much water is used which can cause the carpet color to fade or cause growth of unwanted mold and mildew. Over-shampooing occurs when the carpet cleaner uses too much shampoo and the residue left behind causes the carpet in to attract dirt rather than make it clean. Even though shampooing may be one of the easier and cost effective means of carpet cleaning Minneapolis MN, shampooing is still considered inferior to other types of cleaning because of the potential damage that can be done to the carpet by the brushes and that it doesn’t prevent resoiling. Because of how carpet cleaning with shampoo works, it can take anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days for the shampoo to set and draw in the dirt and dust of the carpet. Shampooing may be more cost effective but it faces challenges presented by steam cleaning.

Steam cleaning is considered a better alternative to shampooing but it comes with a need to use more complex equipment and can cost more if you are paying a professional cleaner to clean the carpet.  Steam cleaning obviously uses steam instead of putting water directly on the carpet. With the high temperature of the steam, the heat looses the dirt in the carpet allowing for it to come up easily with vacuuming. The major bonus to steam cleaning is there is no need for other cleaning products – just water. Steam cleaning is less chemically based and it doesn’t take as long to clean the carpet as shampooing. Unfortunately, steam cleaning is not as effective in cleaning carpets and rugs with extensive dirt and grime; however, there is always the option to shampoo a heavily soiled carpet and then follow up with spot cleaning and steam cleaning to bring the carpet back to a like-new status.