Carpets are one of the biggest investments you will ever make into your home, yet so many people neglect them through a lack of maintenance. If you were to spend thousands of pounds on a brand spanking new television, the chances are you would take utmost care of it, but people have a different attitude towards their carpets.
If you do not want to see your money go down the drain after just a couple of years it would be wise to invest into regular carpet maintenance. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Certification (IICRC) generally recommends that households seek professional carpet cleaning every 12 months or so, but this does vary depending on the level of traffic.
There are a number of methods of carpet cleaning but the two most common are dry cleaning and steam cleaning (or hot water extraction). The latter is the only method to be recommended by all carpet manufacturers, the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) and the IICRC.
A thorough steam cleaning treatment involves a number of separate stages, the first being a high-filtration vacuum cleaner, then a pre-spray which is designed to loosen any of the debris that is stuck between the fibres. The next stages are the actual hot water extraction process where cleaning solutions are pumped into the carpets, and extracted along with the pollutants using the industrial machinery.
Dry cleaning is a completely different carpet cleaning process as, as the name suggests, it does not use any water. This type of cleaning beats a special powder into the carpet, it is then left alone for a set period of time, and vacuumed up. The problems with dry cleaning are that the powder is never fully removed from the carpets, and can therefore cause stains when the carpets become damp or wet. It is also unable to remove the same dirt, allergens and oils and steam carpet cleaning.
Steam carpet cleaning provides a far superior clean and finish to dry cleaning, as it is less likely to cause re-soiling, does not break down the carpet fibres causing fuzz, and leaves behind no residue. Dry cleaning is much faster than steam cleaning as it does not require the carpets to dry out afterwards, but thanks to developments in technology, steam cleaning drying times are now much quicker.
Other methods of carpet cleaning are available but generally should be avoided as they are not proven to clean carpets effectively, or keep carpets in a good condition for longer.
Breeze Carpet Cleaners are steam Essex carpet cleaners offering the best quality, best service and best prices. Jemma Porter is an online writer for Breeze Carpet Cleaners, but also experienced in SEO copywriting.
