What’s The Difference – Carpet Shampooer Vs Steam Cleaning

I’ll start this review by asking you if you have ever used a real carpet shampooer before? Some will remember them and others will not. Like the ones back in the old days where you squeezed a trigger to let a small amount of super soapy and sudsy solution on the carpet while rotary brushes scrubbed the soap into the fibers. If you have then you probably understand why the carpets seem to always get dirtier after a cleaning.

The whole secret to keeping your clean carpets looking clean longer is to remove as much soapy and sticky residues as possible from the fibers.

It takes a good emulsifying pre-spray with a little alkalinity, a powerful hot water jetting action and vacuum system to get that part cleaned efficiently. Past residues like carpet soap, sugary drinks and yes, even store bought carpet cleaning solutions can be fast Re-Soil Attractants.

Next time you try the diy method remember to watch for the extra soapy areas and use a de-foamer solution on those areas. The de-foamer (liquid or powder) will dissipate the suds build up that clogs and downgrades the carpet cleaning machines ability to extract the water and dirt. You will usually know when you are going over those heavily spot cleaned areas by the sound of the bogging vacuum sound. It will be starving for air as the suds are taking it all away as it’s traveling to the waiste tank.

The cost of carpet is at an all time high so why not give our carpets every chance in the world to last as long as they can? I highly suggest to never use a carpet shampooer again but always use a good ‘Hot Water Extraction’ method! Less soil collection makes vacuuming easier and adds years to the life of your carpet.

Here’s a short clip of a few months old coffee stain in a customer’s hallway…

If something is feeling weird when you touch your carpet it’s probably because it’s loaded with dried soapy residue left over from last cleaning episode.

Solution; Go to your local cleaning, janitorial supply store and purchase some de-foamer, take it home and use plain water and the defoamer to clean your carpet again.

Please leave a comment below for any weird or normal carpet shampooer or carpet steam cleaning  question, Thank you,

Allen B  – Huntsville AL