by Carisa Silvesan

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: June 18, 2008

For anyone with carpet, carpet cleaning is essential whether you hire a company to do it, buy a cleaning machine or scrub out those stains yourself. For as many different ways you can think of to clean your carpet and all the dirt and grime therein, there are specific and various methods to get it done. The three main ways to clean your carpet include using a carpet steam cleaner, chemical cleaning treatments or your very own homemade remedies to get the carpet cleaned right. There are also one very useful idea here for spot cleaning.

The first and most obvious carpet cleaning method is steam cleaning through a professional carpet cleaning company. Here's how steam cleaning works. Only steam is used. It is created inside the carpet steam cleaner by adding water and heating that water to a boil which creates the needed steam. The steam is then forced through very tiny holes in the carpet steam cleaner, which also creates a way to get the steam out in high pressure and at a high speed.

Because of the extremely high heat exuded through the carpet steam cleaner any and all dirt and stains in the carpet, even those you may not see, literally melt away. There is an important last step in steam cleaning that not everyone knows about and that is drying. It is a good idea to use a clean towel to wipe all areas that have been steam cleaned because some of the dirt and grime will stay at the surface of the carpet. Using a carpet steam cleaner is great because it can reach places no other cleaner can.

Chemical carpet cleaning is very different from steam cleaning. First is uses chemicals that break down the stains instead of melting them away. Also, unlike using a carpet steam cleaner, chemical cleaning leaves the carpet dry from the beginning. There is no need to leave your house for hours on end waiting for your carpet to dry. A major benefit with chemical carpet cleaning is that some stains that wouldn't otherwise come out of the carpet can usually be removed with chemical carpet cleaning. The exception to this rule are those stains which have leaked down and settled into the carpet padding.

A third method that many people use who can't afford professional carpet cleaning services is the homemade carpet cleaning method. This entails a lot of everyday products such as ammonia, window cleaner among other common household cleaners, baking soda and, the most used, white distilled vinegar. People who have used these products to help get their carpets clean report all methods working well, but with varied amounts of efforts, though white vinegar sprayed on a carpet and then steamed cleaned with hot water only seems to be the most effective. For spot cleaning try sprinkling and rubbing in baking soda into the stain. Then spray some white distilled vinegar on the same spot and let it sit for just a few seconds. Using a sturdy, but soft bristled brush you should be able to scrub any stain out of your carpet. It is helpful to rinse with very hot water and dry with a towel to avoid any mold building up under the carpet area.

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