“I need help! I’m not a very decisive person, but I really want to get my carpet clean the first time around and see that it stays clean. I’m so conflicted! I’ve got friends who swear by their home carpet cleaners, but yuck! I’ve seen them in action and I hear that it takes waaaay longer for carpets to dry using a home machine vs. traditional cleaners. I’m concerned about using a lot of harmful chemicals, but with a few greasy footprints and some old pet stains, I’m concerned about the effectiveness of green cleaning. And then there’s the debate over dry and wet cleaning. It’s true, I am hesitant to waste water, but really, I just want this done right the first time. Someone just tell me what to do.”
The truth? New technologies come and go, and the manufacturers of home carpet cleaners come up with exciting model names that sound like they belong to a Porsche, but you know what has stood the test of time? Hot water extraction (more commonly known as steam cleaning). This method has evolved little since its genesis in the early 1950s. It hasn’t needed to because it’s been proven to work. There’s a reason major carpet name brands recommend—nay, often demand—it. Hot water extraction cleans and sanitizes your carpets, flushing away soil-attracting residue and leaving your carpets dry within four to eight hours..
As for wasting water, it’s easy for a layman to imagine steam cleaning requiring a huge amount of water. It might surprise you to learn that the amount of water needed to clean carpets in an average home is forty to fifty gallons, about equal to the amount required for a couple of three foot kiddie pools!