Carpet cleaning is the worst task for every homeowner, but it makes you stress-free if you can use the right way to clean it. Though steam cleaner is discharging in popularity, most homeowners still don’t quite know how it works and why it has so amazingly advantageous towards cleaning a carpet. If you want to refresh and renew your carpets in residential and commercial settings, steam cleaning on the carpet with the best vacuum and stream cleaner combo, will be the most popular process.
Read the article to know how does steam cleaning works on carpet and disinfect your carpet.
What is a Steam Cleaner?
First of all, you need to understand what a steam cleaner is? A steam cleaner is planned to generate ”dry” vapor steam to assist lifting dirt and stains, eliminate buildup, and sanitize both hard and soft surfaces. Steam cleaners compose a boiler, tank, chemical mixture compartment, refill, and other accessories like brushes and attachments. It heats water in the boiler by electricity to create steam under high heat and pressure. During cleaning, steam may emerge with detergent from the tank for adding stain removal and cleansing.
For industrial level steam cleaners also contain a steam vacuum that automatically eliminates heavy dust and dirt. And it considerably boosts the efficiency and productivity of the steam cleaner.
Steam cleaning a carpet is an enormous technique to remove stains and dirt. Besides, it disinfects your carpet simultaneously, where you need a steam cleaner and water. At 212°F to 180°F, steam can kill fleas, bedbugs, mold, and germs. It will refresh your carpet, clean as new, and safe for your family members.
It would be best if you had sufficient time to do it. Make sure to clean the surface out and vacuum thoroughly before starting steam cleaning. Fill the machine water tank with the appropriate amount of soap. Be sure your steam cleaner is connected to electricity, and wait for sufficient time to hate the water. Your cleaning device will work whether you push or pull it. It would be best to read the operating instructions carefully to make long strips and clean in all corners. And cross the room back. Allow to open windows and use fans to dry the carpet.
Don’t worry; the process is so easy that you don’t have to hire a professional carpet cleaning service. You can do it yourself, and I’m telling you the way step-by-step guide.
Clear the room
Steam cleaning will be the most effective if you remove all toys, papers, and general clutter from the carpet. Remove all tables, chairs, and furniture out of the room. It is not possible to clean the carpet completely if you leave furniture on the rug. If you don’t have another place to shift the furniture, keep them all to half of the room and clean in two separate sections.
If some furniture is too heavy to move from the carpet, cover furniture legs with waterproof tape, or you can use aluminum foil to protect them from hot steam. Because you know moisture does harm to your beloved furniture.
You know a lot of dust settles on baseboards, so you first clean your baseboards before forwarding on to the next step. Use a broom or brush to clear all the dust here.
Vacuum the carpet
Removing hair, dust particles, crumbs, and any other loose dirt, you should vacuum the entire carpet twice. Though the steam cleaning machine can soften stains and renovate the fabric, it cannot remove solid dirt particles wedged deep in the carpet fibers.
Firstly, run the vacuum in one direction slowly enough, because it makes sure to pick as much dust particles as possible. Then vacuum the carpet in a reverse way. It will pick up large debris and even some bedbugs.
For additional cleaning, it would be better to use a nozzle attachment that gets right up to the room’s baseboards and edges.
Treat spot stains on the carpet
Before steam cleaning, use stain remover on a specific spot area. The common carpet stain, such as lipstick, food, and red wine spills, can make your carpet very dirty. For messes, dog urine and even poop also leave horrid dirty spots. Where your vacuum and steam cleaner cannot get rid of them, here you should treat spot stains cleaner on your carpet before steaming.
There are lots of commercial stain removers that you need to choose the right one for your carpet. Apply a sufficient amount of stain remover with a cotton cloth and let it sit for a few minutes before you start steam cleaning the carpet. Do not rub the stain mark with stain remover because it may push the stain deeper into the carpet fiber. Wipe it gently with a dry towel.
Prepare the carpet steam cleaner
Separate the water tank from the steam cleaner if it is attachable. Fill the tank with distilled water it’s require measurement. You can use the carpet cleaning solution, dish soap, and even white vinegar into the tank. But it is better to use only water because steam is enough to disinfect upholstery and get rid of stains from the carpet. Besides, the harsh chemical can damage your carpet. So make sure the manufacturer’s recommendation, and don’t put anything that’s not recommended in the tank.
Replace the tank back onto the steam mop and plug with a power outlet. Wait for sufficient time to heat the water to steaming temperature. The preferred temperature is 212°F that can kill dust mites, bedbugs, and fleas. Try to use a natural cleaning solution and sanitizer that is safe for your pets and kids.
Run the steam cleaner on the carpet
Run the steam cleaning from the corner of the carpet that is diagonal from the room’s door or entrance. Despite an open concept or more than one opening, you have more choice regarding where to start your steam cleaner. Wherever you clean, skip walking on the parts that have already cleaned. If you have to walk behind the steamer, walk with baring feet, so your shoes don’t leave marks and dirt on the cleaned carpet.
Move the machine slowly
It would be best if you kept it in mind that the device must be moved slowly. As steam cleaner work slowly than vacuums, so moderate the speed. When you pull the machine too fast, it won’t give time to absorb the water. Hence we recommend going slow than to fast.
Check also : Carpet steam cleaning cairns
Let the carpet dry
Through steam cleaning, your carpet doesn’t need a lot of water. But it can’t avoid moisture at all. For hot water extraction on your caper, it may require up to 12 hours to dry. Here we are giving a few tips that help your carpet fry faster after steaming.
If you use a shop vac, you will get both dry and wet capabilities. So it would be better to use it to such up excess moisture from your damp carpet. This is very easy to use. Just run over the carpet to make it dry faster. Now open the windows immediately to let moisture escape and allow the carpet dry. Here you can also turn on the fans or place it on the wet carpet areas.
Last line
After a busy summer, your carpet contains a lot of dust, stain, and odors. So you need to clean the carpet, but you wonder how to steam cleaning carpet. It is not so tough to clean by yourself, and you don’t need to hair any professional carpet cleaner where a steam cleaner provides the best result.
