How to Steam Clean Carpets
Carpets are not confined to a particular country or culture. They are popular across the globe for their ability to adorn the house. However, carpets are prone to get dirty and require proper care and maintenance. Spilled drinks and food items cause stains and smears on the carpet surface. Moreover, dust and other tiny substances adhere to carpet fibers on a daily basis, thereby not only leading to dust accumulation, but also resulting in mold and mildew formation. Filthy carpets not only look and smell unpleasant, but also aggravate allergies. Vacuum cleaners suck out most of the dirt and dust, however, they do not clean the carpet completely. To remove oil stains and dirt surpassed by the vacuum, the carpet must be steam cleaned.
According to cleaning research, 'steam and very high temperature water system provides the most desirable results'. Steam cleaning means blasting out of dirt and mold from dirty areas. The high temperature and pressure involved in steam cleaning causes the dirt and mold to separate forcefully from the carpet. The dirt after being forcefully separated from the carpet is sucked first into a powerful vacuum and then a holding tank. In case of vacuum cleaners, this facility is not available, hence only the surface dirt gets removed, leaving the oil stains still on the carpet.
Steam cleaning is the best method of carpet cleaning. For people suffering from asthma and allergies, steam cleaning is very appropriate. Steam cleaners freshen up the carpeted area in the house. The device uses a three-part process to clean the carpet. The machine first sprays a cleaning solution onto the carpet. A brush then vigorously cleans up the carpet deep into the carpet fibers. And then the vacuum system of the steam cleaner sucks up the dirty solution, which is stored in the reservoir for disposal.
Steam Cleaning Carpets
- To steam clean the carpet, one has to ensure that all the furniture has been removed and placed into another room. The carpet area should be free for cleaning.
- Once the carpet is furniture free, one should vacuum the carpet with a regular vacuum cleaner in order to remove all the larger dust particles.
- The dirty and oily areas must be treated with some amount of carpet cleaning solution.
- Prepare the mixture for the steam carpet cleaner. For the mixture, add 1 cup of carpet cleaning solution and hot water in the provided compartment of the steam cleaner.
- Once the equipment is ready for use, set it either in the center of the carpet or on one side. While carrying out carpet steaming, it is important to make sure the carpet is not over-saturated. Over saturation results in soaking of the carpet fibers, leading to mold problems in the future. Thus, it is important to maintain a regular pattern, that is from center outwards or left to right. This way the entire carpet area will be covered without double cleaning.
- When the position is set, plug the cord into the nearby electrical outlet and switch on the steam cleaner. The steam cleaner will suck in all the dirt left behind by the vacuum cleaner.
- Once the entire carpet has been steam cleaned, the carpet will not appear crunched on the floor anymore. The entire carpet will look fresh and clean.
- Open the windows and switch on the fan, to help the carpet dry faster. Summer is the best time to steam clean the carpets, as they dry easily.
- Make sure the freshly steamed carpet area is not tread upon until dry. One can touch the carpet and test for dryness. If the hand is dry after pushing it slightly into the carpet, then it's dry and ready to walk on!
