A carpet accumulates a lot of dirt, dust and even microscopic organisms such as fungus, bacteria, dust mites, etc over the period of time. This creates unhygienic conditions, emits bad odour and spoils the aesthetics and feel of the room. Therefore it is essential to clean the carpet regularly.
The frequency of carpet cleaning may vary from once in two or six months depending on the usage and several other factors. If you have kids in the house then the carpet should be cleaned more frequently. Similarly if there are pets in the house or anyone suffering from allergies in the house carpet should be cleaned on a regular basis.
The method you choose for the carpet cleaning is very important as a wrong selection may reduce the carpet's life. Therefore before selecting a method doing a fibre burn or chemical test is always advisable.
Here, let us discuss some of the carpet cleaning methods:
Shampooing - In this method detergents or carpet cleaning shampoos are applied to the carpet. The detergent is extracted by vacuuming the carpet. This method however still leaves dirt and micro-organisms in the carpet.
Dry Cleaning - In this method a powder is used that has affinity for the dirt. This powder is spread over the carpet. The powder having affinity for the dirt sticks to the dirt in the carpet. Then the carpet is vacuumed to remove the powder and also the dirt.
Steam Cleaning - Steam cleaning is a very popular method especially with allergic people. In this method hot water is mixed with a detergent and the solution is spread into the carpet and then extracted with the help of a machine. Most of the machines available for steam cleaning use hot water while a few of them uses super heated steam.
Foaming - This is a combination of dry cleaning and shampooing methods. In this method very little quantity of water is used so that the carpet dries faster. This method uses a foam detergent having affinity for the dirt. The foam is nicely worked into the fibres of the carpet and then extracted along with the dirt.
