Carpet And Upholstery Cleaning.

By Steve Adams

There are numerous approaches you can take when cleaning carpets and upholstery. The purpose of the cleaning (is it a general clean or are there specific stains which you want to remove) as well as the type of material you are working with will dictate the best cleaning method to use. If you are the housekeeping type you might be considering doing it yourself but people such as me (I’m lazy) prefer to use a professional service. Here are some basic tips to follow when cleaning carpets, rugs and upholstery.

Types of Carpet Cleaning.

Basically there are five basic methods of cleaning carpets namely, steaming, shampooing, dry foam,quick dry, and dry absorbent compound cleaning.

Steam is the most well known of all the common methods but this is not always ideal because of the long drying time (sometimes over 12 hours depending on the material). By lightly wetting the carpet with a cleaning detergent, the steam cleaner then sucks out the debris with a high powered vacuum.

You can get various different types of shampoo cleaning machines. Many look like an upright vacuum cleaner except that they have two nylon bristle brushes as attachments underneath and a tank which contains the cleaning fluid. The process is similar to that of somebody sitting on their knees with a brush as the carpet is scrubbed with the nylon brushes which loosens the dirt which is then vacuumed when the carpet is dry which, the same as the hot water extraction or steam method, is about 12 hours.

Cleaning using the quick dry method may actually seem to be the same as carpet shampooing but the machine is slightly different in that, instead of brushes, it uses a couple of absorbent pads. A quick dry cleaning detergent is first spread over the carpet and then the machine buffs the carpet clean by absorbing the detergent as well as the dirt. The process is similar to buffing your tiled floors. It takes about an hour to dry so this method is ideal for high traffic areas.

Dry foam cleaning is a hybrid of the steam and shampooing methods. A machine with rollers first spreads foam over the carpet after which a vacuum cleaner is used to remove all the remaining foam and the dirt. The foam dries quickly, often within an hour or two.

A dry, absorbent compound which contains various solvents and detergents are spread lightly over the carpet. Either you, or the professional carpet cleaner you hire, will use a machine which works the powder into the carpet fibers after which you need to let some time go by while the powder absorbs the dirt and smells. After a short while (depending on the brand of powder you use), vacuum the carpet so that it removes the remainder of the powder. Since no water is ever used on the carpet there is no need for any drying time.

Upholstery Cleaning Options

The material to be cleaned is the deciding factor when choosing what method you will use to clean. Velvets and silks, for example, should only be dry cleaned and are therefore best left to a professional cleaning service. Some stronger materials, however, can be wet cleaned and this can be done using steam in the same manner that you would use with carpets and rugs. The only difference in the machine is the size of the nozzle which is small enough to be hand held. Most fabrics can also be shampooed but we recommend that you only use the foam of the solution not the liquid and then apply this with a damp sponge.

Identifying the upholstery material

Many people are unaware of the best method to choose when cleaning furniture. In many cases you should find a label (possibly on the underside of one of the cushions) which will state the manufactures instructions, suggestions and warning. The most important thing to look out for is the code, either right at the top or right at the bottom of the label with either a ‘S’, ‘W’ or ‘SW’. ‘S’ indicates that the fabric should be dry cleaned while wet cleaning is indicated with the ‘W’. Materials which can be both wet and dry cleaned are indicated by the ‘SW’

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