What is the best carpet cleaning method? This is the question that many people ask when they begin researching carpet cleaners. At first glance, carpet cleaning may seem like a simple task. When people consider the idea of having their carpet cleaned, they generally envision two methods: Do it yourself, or hire a professional carpet cleaner.
Many consumers choose to hire a carpet cleaner because they feel they can get better results if they let a professional do the job, and they are correct in that assumption. Some people will call a few carpet cleaners and get the lowest price for carpet cleaning. That is their first mistake.
Like many other things in life, you get what you pay for with carpet cleaning. If you hire the cheapest carpet cleaner in town, there is a very good chance that he will simply go to the local big box hardware store and rent the same equipment that you can rent. While he will be doing the work for you, he won’t be doing it any better than you could have done it for half the price.
So what do you need to look for when you want to hire a local carpet cleaning company? The first thing you need to do is ask yourself a few questions about what you want.
- Do you want your carpets cleaned as well as they can reasonably be cleaned? The answer to this is, of course, yes.
- Do you want your carpets to be wet for several hours to several days? Most people will answer no to this question. This leads us to a new question: What is the best carpet cleaning method?
There are currently four primary carpet leaning methods that are used by professional carpet cleaners.
- Hot water extraction cleaning, also known as steam cleaning. Ironically, this method uses neither hot water or steam, yet soaks your carpet and leaves it wet for days.
- Dry carpet cleaning. This method uses a dry powder and a powerful pile lifting vacuum.
- Encapsulation cleaning, also known as chemical cleaning. This method uses an encapsulation chemical that traps the soil, and also a powerful pile lifting vacuum.
- Low moisture carpet cleaning, also known as bonnet cleaning. This process uses a small amount of moisture, dwell time, and agitation to thoroughly clean carpet without soaking it.
Out of the methods listed above, I recommend the low moisture carpet cleaning process as the best carpet cleaning method.
