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There are many different ways which you can take when approaching a carpet and upholstery cleaning task. The reason you are cleaning (general clean, removal of stains etc) as well as the kind of fabric you are cleaning both determine the kind of method you will choose. Whether you are going to use a professional carpet cleaning service or you are planning on doing it yourself, here are some basic guidelines to follow to make sure you don’t damage the material.

Carpet and rug cleaning methods

Basically there are five basic methods of cleaning carpets namely, steaming, shampooing, dry foam,quick dry, and dry absorbent compound cleaning.

Steam is the most well known of all the common methods but this is not always ideal because of the long drying time (sometimes over 12 hours depending on the material). By lightly wetting the carpet with a cleaning detergent, the steam cleaner then sucks out the debris with a high powered vacuum.

There are many different types of carpet shampoo machines available on the market. Many of them stand upright with a tank for the solution and a couple of nylon brushes underneath. If you can imagine somebody manually cleaning with a scrubbing brush, this is basically the same that happens with a machine. The carpet is scoured with the nylon brushes loosening the dirt which is then vacuumed up later after the carpet has dried. This method has the same unfortunate downside in that it can take over 12 hours for the carpet to dry

Cleaning using the quick dry method may actually seem to be the same as carpet shampooing but the machine is slightly different in that, instead of brushes, it uses a couple of absorbent pads. A quick dry cleaning detergent is first spread over the carpet and then the machine buffs the carpet clean by absorbing the detergent as well as the dirt. The process is similar to buffing your tiled floors. It takes about an hour to dry so this method is ideal for high traffic areas.

Dry Foam cleaning is a mixture between shampooing and hot water extraction. Foam is introduced to the carpet by a machine with rolling brushes and the carpet is then vacuumed to remove the dirt. The drying time, dependent on the carpet type of course, is between an hour or two.

A powder called dry absorbent compound containing detergents and solvents which are lightly spread over the carpet. Either the professional or you use a machine which brushes the mixture into the carpet fibers after which you leave the carpet for a short time while the powder encapsulated the dirt. Once a bit of time has passed, a vacuum cleaner is used so suck up the dirt as well as the remaining compound. This method eliminates the chance of your carpets going moldy since no water is ever applied.

Options for cleaning upholstery

The upholstery fabric is what normally determines what kind of cleaning method will be used. Velvets and silks, for example, can only be dry cleaned and, unless you really know what you are doing, is best left to an upholstery cleaning professional. Other more durable fabrics can be steam cleaned similar to carpets as they do not suffer any side effects from getting wet. The hot extraction method (steam cleaning) is identical to that which is used for carpets except that the nozzle is a small, hand held version. Hand shampooing can also be used but instead of using a machine the cleaning fluid is agitated into a foam and this foam is then applied to the fabric using a sponge.

Recognising Upholstery

When it comes to cleaning fabric furniture, most people don’t know what the best method to use should be. Search for the manufacturer’s instructions label. You should find it lurking at the bottom of one or all of the cushions and this should contain the manufactures suggestions, warnings and instructions. Apart from all the other images and text, look out for one of three codes: ‘S’, ‘W’ or ‘SW’. ‘W’ indicates that wet cleaning is permissible while the ‘S’ states that the material should only be dry cleaned. ‘SW’ indicates that the material is suitable for both wet and dry cleaning methods.

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