Steam Cleaning or Shampooing to Clean Your Carpets

Are you thinking whether you should use shampoo or do steam cleaning on the carpet? Well both the methods seem to have their own pros and cons and yet, they are the most popular options. You can eliminate dirt, dust and allergies with proper cleaning and vacuuming of carpets. Go through this blogpost to know about the better option for the longevity of your expensive carpets. 

Choose between shampoo or steam cleaning for carpets

While shampooing can clean to remove dark spots from the carpet, it will soak it up and require long time to dry completely. Steam cleaning, on the other hand, can disinfect your carpet and is not a suitable option to get rid of dirt and debris. So, you should know about both the methods before choosing one for carpet cleaning.

About carpet shampooing

Using a carpet shampoo will provide foam-based cleaning product that works for lessening the dirt on your carpet fibers. A good cleaning machine acts by agitating fibers further and then breaking down unwanted dirt further. It can even scrub stubborn stains to get rid of them easily. You can rinse carpet with water and take care of extracting moisture as you will not want mold to appear on the surface.

Advantages and disadvantages of carpet shampooing

Shampooing a carpet is a suitable way to eliminate unwanted stains and dirt. But there are some drawbacks to this method and the same will be applicable for carpet shampooing. Below are some pros and cons of the method.

Pros:

• Very effective to get rid of dark and heavily soiled carpets
• Eliminate tough stain marks present on the carpet fibers
• Remove the dirt present in the carpet

Cons:

• Large machines are required which are very costly
• Leaves your carpet wet for the next 24 to 48 hours
• Damages carpet padding in case lots of water is used

About carpet steam cleaning

Steam cleaning is more effective option in comparison to the conventional method. It seems to be different among other cleaning methods as it only requires heat and water to make carpets look good. Steam cleaning is reliable, durable and high pressure and temperature may cause dirt to break down easily. The water will then be released and then sucked back with dirt while minimal moisture can be needed and so, drying time will be less.

Pros and cons of carpet steam cleaning

Steam cleaning has several positive points that undermine the negative ones. Read on to know about the advantages and disadvantages of carpet steam cleaning.

Pros:

• Kills almost 99.99 percent of germs and bacteria
• Get rid of pets and destroy their eggs completely
• Less moisture is needed and carpet can be dried within a few hours only
• Chemicals are not needed for cleaning purpose

Cons:

• Debris cannot be removed
• Strains may need to be treated in advance
• Cannot clean dark and heavily spoiled carpet well
• Costs seem to be more in comparison to the conventional methods

Major comparison between steam cleaning and shampooing

Carpet steam cleaning

• Heat and water are needed only and so, it is a natural process
• High temperature kills allergens, germs, bacteria and disinfects your carpet
• There is no reside left as hot vapor can be used only for cleaning
• Kill pests with destroying their eggs
• Drying time is less as steam and limited moisture can be used only

Carpet shampooing

• The shampoo has chemicals and might need other cleaning products too
• Get rid of pests sometimes but not their eggs
• Soaks carpet and the results can be attained in 24 to 48 hours of drying time and even longer, at times
• Chemical residue can be left behind
• Heated water is not involved and so, allergens and germs are not eliminated

Thus, steam cleaning seems to be a suitable choice and more effective for cleaning the carpets. It has more benefits than that of carpet shampooing. You should opt for shampooing the carpet in case it is extremely soiled as steam cleaning won’t be that effective at the time of cleaning it. It is suggested that you steam clean carpet and when there are more stains, treating them properly is necessary before starting with steam cleaning. You need to do carpet shampooing when there is heavy soil in the carpet. Make sure you get the carpets cleaned by the professionals once or twice a year.