Carpets can be both beautiful and functional, but only if they’re kept clean. When you need to clean your carpets, there are plenty of ways to do it, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

You’ll want to consider the type of carpet you have in your home, the level of soil or odor present, your budget, as well as the amount of traffic it gets, in order to choose the best approach for your specific needs.

Here are the most common carpet cleaning techniques and why they should be considered when looking at the cleaning process from beginning to end.

1) Dry Cleaning

Dry cleaning (often referred to as dry-extraction) cleans your carpet with powerful agitation that pulls the dirt, dust, pet hair and debris from deep within the fibers.

It also removes bacteria that can be left behind by liquid cleaning methods like hot water extraction or steam cleaning.

With dry extraction, there’s less risk of soaking your carpet with over wetting agents or moisture that can cause mold to grow.

2) Professional Steam Cleaning

Professional steam cleaning is considered the gold standard and most widely used method of carpet and upholstery cleaning. Steam cleaning typically offers excellent results.

However, due to the high level of agitation involved, it may not be appropriate for sensitive materials such as delicate upholstery fabrics or silk carpets.

Professional steam cleaners are very efficient in removing stubborn stains and even have strong enough cleaning power to handle pet stains.

3) Encapsulation Cleaning

The encapsulation cleaning technique is a revolutionary, eco-friendly carpet cleaning method which cleans the carpet from within.

Encapsulating dirt within the fibers, it leaves your carpet feeling light and fresh, rather than weighted down with chemical residue.

Encapsulation cleaning begins with a deep-cleaning machine that loosens dirt and stains and picks them up to be suctioned away with the vacuum. Next, hot water is sprayed over the carpet through a set of rotating nozzles in order to remove any traces of dirt that remain.

4) Bonnet Cleaning

Bonnet cleaning, also known as dry carpet cleaning, is the cheapest and simplest way to deep clean your carpets.

A deep vacuum cleans and sucks out the dirt and debris from your carpet while leaving behind a residual chemical cleaner on the surface of the carpet.

Dry foam techniques are often used with bonnet cleaning to help break up tougher stains and provide mor coverage on stubborn stains such as pet urine.

5) Hot Water Extraction

Hot water extraction is the most commonly used technique. When hot water and soap are applied to a surface they break down contaminants like dirt, bacteria, and any leftover detergent.

When mixed with the cleaning solution, this process produces a slurry that needs to be extracted from the carpet fibers.

Afterward, your carpet will dry in minutes rather than hours because it’s free of all the gunk that makes it difficult for air to circulate.

Conclusion

In the end, no matter which method you decide to use when trying to determine the best carpet cleaning technique for your home, the most important thing is that you purchase a high quality carpet cleaner as well as finding a good cleaning solution. Without these two key components, even the best technique will not remove all of your stains and keep your carpets looking their best.