Will Steam Cleaning Damage Carpet?

Carpet Cleaning — One of the most often asked questions we get from customers is if our carpet-cleaning procedure, hot-water extraction (steam cleaning), will harm carpets.

The short, but ambiguous response is that it shouldn’t. It all comes down to the technician’s ability (or wants to be).

If done correctly, steam cleaning will not harm your carpet. Most carpet cleaners utilize steam cleaning because it is typically regarded the greatest restorative cleaning procedure. In reality, most carpet manufacturers recommend steam cleaning as the primary (but not exclusive) procedure, and most manufacturers demand annual steam cleaning in order to keep a valid warranty.

However, carpet steam cleaners might make blunders that cause issues.

The most typical blunder is soaking the carpet too much.

This can occur for a variety of reasons:

The equipment is defective or of poor quality;
The water pressure is too high (psi);
The technician’s technique is poor;
The humidity or temperature in your home makes carpet drying difficult, and/or
To help speed up the drying process, no fans or air movers were utilized.

1. The equipment used is defective or of poor quality.

Portable steam cleaning machines and truck-mounted steam cleaning machines are the two types of steam cleaning machines.

A portable unit is similar to a Carpet Cleaning machine that is rented. It’s wheeled into the house and connected to a water supply like a kitchen sink. The toilet is flushed with dirty water. Some portable machines are slightly more powerful than others. The vacuum suction on these devices is inadequate, and the water never gets hot enough.

We do not advocate steam-cleaning a carpet with a portable equipment. It just lacks the vacuum ability to remove all of the soap, water, and grime from the carpet.

A carpet machine mounted inside a van, vehicle, or trailer is known as a truck-mounted unit. Most of these units are completely self-contained, which means they have their own fresh water tank in the van and dirty waste water is routed to a separate waste tank. Depending on the equipment, the suction power is substantially higher, and the water temperature can exceed 230 degrees. The cost of these equipment ranges from $10,000 to $50,000. In general, the higher the price, the better the machine.

However, having the biggest, baddest carpet machine does not guarantee that they will perform a great job! With a less expensive machine, an experienced technician can provide excellent results; an inexperienced technician cannot.

2. The water pressure is excessively high.

On almost every equipment, the water pressure (measured in pounds per square inch, or PSI) can be changed. Because pressure can and should be changed dependent on the type of carpet being cleaned as well as how soiled the carpet is, there isn’t necessarily a perfect PSI setting.

When using a portable or low-end truck-mounted carpet machine, the PSI should be reduced slightly, as these machines lack the sheer suction power of the larger, badder truck-mounted machines.

It’s also possible that the person operating the equipment is unaware of the proper pressure to apply based on the conditions and type of equipment in use, causing the carpet to become overly moist. An expert technician will assist you.

3. The technician’s technique is bad.

I believe you’re getting it. Isn’t it all about how skilled the technician is, or aspires to be?

The nuts and bolts of Carpet Cleaning are the techniques used by technicians. I always advise new techs that not all carpets are made equal, which means that some sections will be dirtier than others and will require slower wand strokes and additional dry runs. A dry pass, also known as a dry stroke, is when the carpet wand vacuum is used without injecting water into the carpet. This is useful for eliminating moisture from a soiled or heavily trafficked surface. However, in a low-traffic area or one that isn’t excessively soiled, there is less water – thus fewer dry passes.

The goal is to use just enough water to eliminate the dirt, soap, and water, but not enough to soak or over-wet the carpet.

An untrained or incompetent carpet-cleaning technician, or a technician who simply doesn’t care about his work, can over-wet the carpet.

4. The humidity and temperature in your home make carpet drying difficult.

Carpet requires air movement and low humidity to dry quickly. The thermostat should be set to turn on the fan at the very least. The temperature should ideally be tuned according to the weather outside. In the winter, for example, it’s advisable to set the heat a few degrees higher than the homeowner usually does. In the summer, the thermostat should be set to run the air conditioner a little cooler than usual. Drying periods will be reduced by combining airflow and temperature control. You’re asking for disaster if you’re cleaning a basement in the summer while it’s raining and don’t switch on the air conditioner. Hot moisture stagnating in a basement room that already has poor air circulation is bad news! Always turn off any humidification system when cleaning carpet.

5. There were no fans or air movers employed to help the carpet dry faster.

When blowers or fans are utilized after Carpet Cleaning, the drying period is greatly reduced. When you combine it with controlling the air temperature and humidity, you’ve got the perfect after-cleaning setting.

Carpet cleaners employ blowers that come in a number of sizes and power ranges. We use compact blowers because they are lightweight and easy to transport from room to room.
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