Despite you trying to clean your carpets yourself, years of stains, spots and bacteria have accumulated in your carpets and rugs. You finally decided to get it professionally cleaned, but how do you know which carpet cleaning method is best for your carpets? Steam cleaning and dry bonnet cleaning are two methods for cleaning carpets, but is one better than the other?

The process of the steam cleaning

It’s important to know that “steam” is actually used to clean your carpets. While portable carpet cleaning machines use hot water, which gives off some steam, steam alone does not clean your carpet. Instead, a chemical pre-treat is sprayed in your carpets. Hot water at 220 degrees saturates in the carpet fibers — alkaline for polyester and nylon carpets and acidic for wool or natural fiber carpets. The truck-mount is then used to extract up the bulk of the water from the carpets.

Carpet cleaning products

There are many commercial portable machines available for home to rent. Commercial portables use hot tap water to get the job done, while those rented from a grocery store may have a heating source built within. Both machines have the same process You pour a carpet cleaning chemical in the machine, move it slowly and steam into your carpet, then extract it from your carpets.  Once cleaned, your carpets are not dry for 10 hours or so. — while the remaining carpet dries. 

Commercial steam cleaning

You can also hire professional carpet cleaning company like TLC Carpet Care to come and steam clean your carpets. They will often use a truck-mount machine or one attached to a van. These truck-mounts operate on the same process as a portable machine but are much more powerful, allowing more heat and stronger psi into the carpet and extract up more water. They also have a shorter drying time.

Dry bonnet cleaning 

The other option available is dry bonnet cleaning. This method of carpet cleaning uses dry cleaning chemicals that are placed on a carpet and break down the surface soil. The name of this cleaning method is also misleading because they use a small amount of water so it's not really dry!!   Dry cleaning offers the advantage of time as carpets can be used again within one hour  after cleaning is complete. Dry cleaning are often used in commercial buildings for this reason.

Steam cleaning your carpets and rugs means you need only steam and a rented machine and chemicals. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait between 6 and 10 hours to walk on your carpets. However this is because steam cleaning gets all the way back to the backing of the carpets, making it a more thorough clean

Dry cleaning, meanwhile, offers the advantage of quick dry time and an effective cleaning through chemical agents and application solutions. The chemicals used, however  are toxic and don't always come out of your carpets and also tires quick because it only cleans the surface of your carpet which can lead to wicking.

If you would like more info on Carpet Cleaning Choices Steam & Dry Bonnet Cleaning visit us at tlccarpetcare.net or call us at 720-314-0178 / Carpet Cleaners Castle Rock C0

TLC Carpet Care services Castle Rock and the surrounding areas of Sedalia, Larkspur, Franktown, Parker and Elizabeth Co.