DIY Professional Carpet Cleaning

Sept. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Maintaining a clean carpet is important for several reasons. The most obvious is to maintain a pleasant looking home. Nobody wants guests coming into their home and put off by a dirty carpet. It is also important to keep your carpet clean to promote the longevity of your carpet. A clean, well maintained carpet will last longer than a carpet left alone. Dirty carpets can increase the chance of bacteria growth. Moisture trapped in the padding can deteriorate the carpet from the underneath. Mold and mildew from moisture can cause a carpet to lift, create uneven carpeting, or cause illness. Illness can also come from pollen and dust buildup in carpeting. Particularly for allergy sufferers.

There are several options when it comes to cleaning carpet. Professional carpet cleaners are abundant. They can also be costly. One room can cost anywhere from $80 to $100. There might be added fees for various cleaning add-ons. Scheduling can also cause problems in having a professional carpet cleaner visit your home. You have to work around their availability and make plans to be home when they arrive. Another issue could be in the actual cleaning product used. Is it strong enough to remove stains? Is it watered down? Will it prevent mold growth? Is it green? What happens in the event that stains treated reappear? Phantom stains can be very common in carpeting. If a stain seems to be gone, but then reappears days or weeks later, will the professional carpet cleaner come back to treat it again, and if so will they charge?

The best way to properly clean carpets in a machine is by using a surfactant based cleaner. The proper surfactant will work with water to make the stains in carpet and the fibers water soluble. When a stain becomes water soluble, it can then be broken down. Once a stain is broken down, it can be rinsed away. A good surfactant, like Genesis 950 will also disinfect and kill bacteria. This does more than just remove stains, but it kills and destroys odors in the carpet as well as the padding. For pet owners, destroying odors in the carpet stops pets from going in that spot. Allergy sufferers can also breathe easier as pollen and mold are broken down and removed from carpet. Being a green cleaner, and relying on the aid of water, it will not damage your carpet in any way. Nor will it leave behind any soapy suds, harmful chemicals or unwanted stains.

For the best carpet cleaning, use the surfactant in the carpet cleaning machine with the proper dilution of water. There are two basic types of carpet cleaning machines. There are machines that have two compartments - one for water and solution, and machines that have one compartment where the water and solution are mixed together. The machines with 2 compartments are the easiest to use as far as mixing the solution and water. Simply pour the solution in the proper compartment and the water in the other. These machines allow the user to select a setting ranging from low to heavy. Your selection will determine how much solution is used. For general cleaning, the low setting is best. For heavy cleaning involving harsh stains or pet stains, the high setting will be best. In machines where the solution and water are mixed, you can select how much solution to use based on your cleaning needs. Genesis 950 for example recommends a mixture of 1 part 950 to 7 parts water for general cleaning. For pet stains or hard setting stains, this can be increased up to a 50/50 mix. Genesis 950 is availabel in 2.5 & 5 gallon units. Generally a 2.5 gallon unit can be used to clean an average home. At $60 for a 2.5 gallon, you are paying far less to clean your entire home than any professional cleaner charges.

To properly clean your carpet, slowly go over the carpet using the machine on the required setting with the desired amount of cleaning solution. Take your time ensuring the solution is dispersed thoroughly. Allow the carpet to be saturated. In cases where there are odors or heavy stains, be sure the mixture is being released slowly enough that it goes into the padding. This will allow the cleaning solution and water mix to disinfect and deodorize the padding.

After the carpeted areas have been cleaned, rinse the carpet using only water. Generally machines with two compartments have a rinse setting. For machines with one compartment, fill that compartment with straight, clean water. Slowly rinse the areas you have cleaned with the cleaning solution. As you rinse, the clean water will flush out and remove everything that has been broken down and lifted from the carpet. When using a surfactant based cleaner, you will see the return water come up murky and brackish, especially if the carpet had not been cleaned for sometime or if the cleaning is taking place in a high traffic area or where there was bad staining. Rinsing can be continued until the water begins to come up clear, or until you are satisfied with the results.

Once the carpet has been cleaned and rinsed, allow the carpet to dry. Fans and dehumidifiers can aid in speeding the drying process up. One nice thing about a cleaner like Genesis 950 is that as the carpet dries, the antibacterial agents in it will prevent bacteria or mold growth from forming as the moisture in the carpet dries. While drying, avoid walking on the carpet.

With the right cleaner and machines, carpet cleaning can be an easy task. Machines are easily attainable for consumers as are cleaners that work better than professional's cleaners. Knowing how different cleaners work and what to expect from them also makes it easy for the consumer to properly clean carpet with superior results. The time and money saved by cleaning your own carpets can add up quickly. By cleaning your own carpets, you can clean based on your schedule and needs. With the right cleaner, you also know that the job will be done right.