Carpet Cleaning Methods: Shampoo

With such a variety of carpet cleaning methods on the market, how can you know which one to choose? Let us help walk you through it. In earlier articles, we discussed bonnet and dry cleaning for your carpets. Now let’s take a closer look at carpet shampoo.

When we think of shampoo, we often think of washing our hair. Shampoo is great for keeping hair fresh and clean. Does this same concept apply to carpet?

What is Carpet Shampoo?

Many people get carpet shampooing confused with steam cleaning or hot water extraction. After all, both methods use water and chemicals to dislodge soil, dirt, and other particles and then use suction to remove the residue. However, they are different. With shampooing, the method combines a dry foam cleaning agent and water, often mixed with specialty detergents. The mixture gets scrubbed into the carpet with rotating brushes to create a thick lather.

As the lather sits on (and in) the carpet, it loosens dirt and debris from the pile. The soil then bonds to the shampoo instead. After that, large amounts of water wash the shampoo and dirt out of your carpet. And, as with your hair, you sometimes need to “lather, rinse, repeat” a few times to get your carpet clean.

Benefits of Carpet Shampoo

Direct to the customer or Do-it-yourself Carpet shampoo methods sometimes work well in removing stubborn, heavy stains. Scrubbing the lather into your carpet results in heavier saturation points, allowing the shampoo to get down where trampled particles hide.

Drawbacks of Carpet Shampoo

Shampooing uses large amounts of water for rinsing, and sometimes for mixing the lather, producing very wet carpets – more than hot water extraction. It takes abundant time for your carpets to dry. Also, this method is designed to address your entire carpet, not merely spot cleaning. Even using large amounts of water for rinsing, it usually leaves behind a residue that will attract dirt and debris, making your carpet appear to get dirty even faster than normal after the cleaning.

Another challenge is the application of the shampoo and water. A common result of doing it yourself is using too much water or shampoo. Abundant water means it will take even longer to dry, in which time mold, mildew or other damage to your carpet fibers might come into play. Too much shampoo means even more residue left behind, possibly causing allergic reactions. That residue quickly attracts incoming soils, making your carpet look dirtier than before the cleaning.

When in Doubt…

While carpet shampooing often uses chemicals and scrubbing methods that can dislodge soils from your carpet effectively, the extraction process leaves much to be desired. However, professional cleaning services like Preferred Carpet Care know when and how to use such methods to the height of efficiency. We not only have top-notch equipment to remove residue, but we have decades of experience and trained skill to use that equipment successfully. We also have access to solvents and cleaning materials that no do-it-yourselfer could attain. To find out more, give us a call or schedule an appointment online. It might be best to keep the shampoo option for your hair.