Should you use shampoo or steam? The problem with carpet cleaning does not only revolve around the different stains, dust and dirt that could be lingering in your carpet. You also need to think about the method of carpet cleaning: should you use shampoo or steam? Both of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. Understanding them will help you to come up with the right decision.
Why Use Liquid Shampoo
This is one of the most common methods of carpet cleaning, also considered to be the oldest. The materials used are very simple, so any carpet user can utilize this method. You only need to have carpet brushes and a foamy solution, which you need to get from the manufacturer. This is because you cannot just formulate your own or clean the carpet with some random cleaning solution.
Professional carpet cleaners follow this process: It begins with adding the shampoo into the carpets. The brush will be used to cover the shampoo to the area that needs to be cleaned. The foam will then be allowed to stay on top of the carpet for a while until it can absorb any ground-in dirt. It can be between 2 hours to even a day, depending on the severity of the dirt. When the shampoo has already dried, you can already suction it with your vacuum cleaner.
One of the benefits of using shampoo is that it works well with heavily soiled carpets and can bring back the vibrance of the carpet colors. It also does not destroy the fluffiness of the carpet pile, and is not expensive. Carpet cleaners know that shampooing is one of the most basic techniques in carpet cleaning.
There are, however, two potential issues with shampoo carpet cleaning. First, it leaves residues to the carpet, making the process messier. Moreover, it will encourage buildup into the carpet, which means it gets dirty again quickly.
Why Use Steam Cleaning
A better approach to carpet cleaning will be using steam. It uses more complicated equipment, such as a special type of vacuum cleaner. It can also be quite costly. Nevertheless, when you get to know their benefits, you would be more encouraged to use it. The best carpet cleaners always recommend the steam cleaning method.
As its name suggests, you clean the carpet using steam. The water is heated to a certain temperature, and the steam will then be released onto the surface of the carpet. Expert New York carpet cleaners can estimate the duration of steaming. With its hotness, it will be able to lift ground-in dirt into the carpet. The heat loosens accumulated dirt, dust and scum. Then it becomes a lot easier for you to remove them through vacuuming.
Steam cleaning is the ideal carpet cleaning solution. With steam cleaning, all you need is water. Thus, there is no need to invest in other cleaning products. What’s more, steam can get into the deeper portions of the carpet fiber, where the soil and dust could be found. This is something that cannot be accomplished by mere shampooing. Within 15 minutes, you are already done with the entire carpet cleaning procedure, and you do not leave any residue into the carpet, as those drops of water can evaporate immediately.
The only problem with steam cleaning is that it will not effectively work with carpets that are heavily soiled or those that are exposed to extremely high traffic.
Working with Carpet Cleaning Companies
You can avail of a carpet cleaner service to ensure that you can employ the right kind of cleaning method. You can also expect these carpet cleaners to have the best equipment needed to get their job done, so you will not have to hassle yourself with procuring them yourself. Most of all, the best carpet cleaners will have the expertise to perform both shampoo and steam carpet cleaning. They can also offer you the soundest advice.
Rob Williams
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/the-difference-between-using-shampoo-and-steam-in-carpet-cleaning-749490.html
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
What is the difference between a Carpet Shampooer and a Steamer?
My husband and I are in the process of buying either a carpet shampooer or a carpet steamer. Im not sure what the difference is in each besides the obvious of course. I understand one uses steam to clean and the other shampoos. But is there a difference in what each is used for or the kind of carpets you have or what?
Im not sure which one we should buy for our carpets. We have stains in them that I want to clean plus I want to "refresh" the carpet with a cleaning. And if it matters we have berber carpet.
Thanks!
I think a carpet shampooer is more useful for removing stains from the carpet. A steamer is more desinfecting, although you might be a able to buy a desinfecting shampoo i suppose.
References :
i have been trough a lot of steam cleaners ..and the one i use at home that i think works the best for me is the hoover spin scrub steam vac
i use it a lot . works well .and is priced right
i have white carpets through out my house .
so that baby gets a lot of use
Source(s):
been a user of the hoover .. love it
References :
have had a shampooer and steamers ,, i like steamers .. the carpets are dryer after use and they are better if you have concrete floors under carpets
a steamer cleans with hot steam
ashampoer clean whith water
References :
Yes there is a difference shampooers basically leaves some of the dirt in the carpet steamers pulls and brings up the dirt so your carpet would be cleaner and it would smell alot better.
References :
A carpet shampooer uses a mixture of water and carpet shampoo that is routed through swirling brushes as you spray it onto the carpet. It will clean your carpet but you have to be careful not to over soak as a shampooer does not remove the dirty water.
A Steam Cleaner uses hot water and carpet shampoo. You mix this in a tank and that mixture is sprayed onto the carpet. While the mixture is being sprayed it will also vacuum the dirty mixture out of your carpet into a separate tank. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about soaking your carpet because of the vacuuming action of the cleaner. I prefer a steamer and it does and excellent job.
References :
I am the source. Thank you.
Rug doctors work better than anything. Did you know they are for sale to the public now? Just go to rugdoctor .com or something like that. The ones in the stores are red. the ones you buy are blue.
References :
The steam cleaner onl uses hot steam not soap and water
References :
"Steamer" is a misleading term, as devices sold as "steamers" don’t really make steam – they’re just cleaning the carpet with hot tap water. What they DO do is vacuum the dirty water up out of the carpet. You fill one tank with clean hot water, the "steamer" mixes this with cleaning product, squirts it on the carpet, scrubs with rotating brushes, and then vacuums up the water and deposits it in a waste tank. I have a Hoover Steam Vac – it’s a great thing. One tip: the instructions say there is no need to rinse (i.e., go back over the carpet a second a second time with water only) – but I find that if I do this I get less cleaning product odor after I’m done – and a lot more dirt comes out of the carpet and ends up in the waste tank on that second pass. I have used the Hoover Steam Vac very successfully on both berber and wool carpets. Another tip: the instructions will tell you to only use the same brand of cleaning product as the machine – but you don’t really have to as long as you’re using a solution made for that type of machine. I thought Hoover brand carpet solution was too strong-smelling; I tried Sears brand and like it much better.
References :
While some people use the term shampooer and steamer interchangeably, manufacturers do not recommend that a carpet be shampooed. Shampooing typically involves one or two rotating brushes that scrub the carpet. The rotation of these brushes can untwist pile fibers, cause pile distortion, and damage your carpet. Most manufacturers recommend steam cleaning, which is more accurately called hot water extraction. For a complete description of all carpet cleaning methods review our section on carpet cleaning at http://carpetbuyershandbook.com/diycleaning.htm
References :
http://carpetbuyershandbook.com