Carpet, despite being so common in retail and particularly business environments, requires more upkeep than most people think. Muddy foot prints, odours and unidentifiable stains are all very common to find on carpets that do not have a regular scheduled clean.
It’s recommended under the Australia Standard for carpet cleaning that carpets are professionally cleaned once a year. When this time comes around, it’s important to consider the method that the professionals use on your carpet.
There are a number of different methods professionals can use to clean carpets:
Steam Cleaning
Steam cleaning is suitable for most carpets and is the most common method used by professional cleaners. It’s completed with a portable machine which can also be truck mounted if it’s a larger model. Many carpet manufacturers recommend steam cleaning as the preferred method of carpet cleaning. The steam cleaning method rids the carpets of deep embedded stains and prolongs the life of the carpet. There is a four step process involved in steam cleaning carpets:
- The carpet is vacuumed to pick up as much dirt and dust as possible before the deep clean.
- A chemical solution is sprayed onto the carpet and is left for a while to sink in and target tough stains.
- Water is sprayed into the carpet with a high-pressure jet hose.
- The hot water is vacuumed out of the carpets with a powerful vacuum.
Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning follows a similar process to steam cleaning, though a lot less water is used. Though not technically ‘dry’ because the process still uses water extraction, dry cleaning focuses more on the strong chemicals used to target stains and marks on the carpet in the second phase of the process. Dry cleaning is also referred to as ‘surface cleaning’ as it does not clean as deep as steam cleaning, rather it is more commonly used as a maintenance clean.
Bonnet Cleaning
Bonnet cleaning is a very common form of dry cleaning for carpets. It does not require the use of heavy equipment like steam cleaning and is the most commonly used form of dry cleaning. The process of bonnet cleaning is quite simple:
- The carpet is vacuumed to remove excess dirt and dust from the surface.
- A cleaning agent is applied to the cleaner’s pad (A.K.A bonnet).
- The cleaner pad is rubbed along the carpet, which transfers the dirt from the carpet onto the pad.
- The carpet is vacuumed once the entire area has been covered by the cleaner.
Professional cleaners will often have a preference as to which method they use to clean carpets, which they should discuss with you. Gretams Cleaning Service use the steam cleaning method, which performs the deepest clean and what we believe to be the best results. For any questions about carpet cleaning or to book your cleaning service, contact us today on (07) 3892 4900.