by Kristen Alliegro

Created on: June 12, 2008   Last Updated: June 18, 2008

Most people want a home that has an appearance of cleanliness and sanitation. Like an unmade bed, a dirty carpet can ruin the entire effect, especially if one has pets. This can be particularly worrisome if there is a pending gathering of family and friends. Do you go to your local hardware or grocery store and rent a do-it-yourself steam cleaner or call a professional? Which is going to be more cost effective? Which is going to result in less down-time? Which is safer? These are all questions that should go into the decision making process, especially if there are pets and children in the home.

Do-it-yourself steam cleaning, which typically utilizes a water-based extraction system, and may be the less expensive option, but is that a sufficient reason? Although the machines contain a water ciphoning vacuum system, the carpet does not get thoroughly dried and can remain damp for several days. This means if a wayward child or dog romps around on it, all the work - and expense - that has just been put into the effort is for naught. Additionally, what happens to damp cloth? Even poly-synthetics will grow mold if not dried quickly, nor does it kill dust mites. Even if such were harmless there would be the smell to contend with. Unfortunately, bacteria and mold due to dampness are not harmless. They contribute to allergies, bronchitis, skin and eye irritations, and even asthma. Even with appropriate techniques to assist with rapid drying like additional fans and temerature control settings in the home, there will still be at least a day or two where it would not be adviseable to walk on the carpet.

What of the quality of cleaning from a steam cleaning method? It is not recommended to utilize a do-it-yourself system. The machines are not up to par and the actual results fall short. You could hire a professional, which will render better results, but again we return to the issues related to the downtime and dampness in addition to being potentially quite expensive.

There is another option with steam cleaning and that is the dry, or vapor method. However, the pre-treatment and post-treatment requirements can be laborous enough to be deterring. First, you mut thoroughly vacuum, then pretreat with a surfactant, then scrub the worst stains, then vapor steam, then vacuum again. Keep in mind, you want the carpet thoroughly dried before the last vacuum so as not to damage your vacuum cleaner. The upside to using the vapor steam method is that there are no chemicals involved

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