I walk into many homes and have this same conversation. I hear “the last cleaner told me Dry Cleaning was the way to go” or “you should never steam clean carpet it will shrink”. How about “Carbonation is what is going to remove your dirt” and, one of my favorites, “steam cleaning leaves a chemical residue”. People seem to get their cleaning information from Aunt Sally’s cousin Bob. If you are reading, this you may be looking for information on cleaning, and that’s great. Google “Shaw Carpet”, “Stain Master” “Mohawk Carpet” and see what they have to say in there cleaning section. You will find that it is the same thing I have said for years. “Wet Cleaning is Best.”

First, let’s look at Dry Cleaning. In cleaning of clothes, dry cleaning means you are using a solvent to clean and there is no water used. Yes the solvent is a liquid but it is not water. In cleaning of carpet, dry cleaning means low moister.

Now lets look at what low moister means in cleaning clothes, better yet your favorite knit sweeter. Why, because it is most likely nylon yarn like the yarn in the carpet you are trying to clean. In “Dry Cleaning” or what Chem-Dry’s claim to fame is “we use carbonation to clean because it is safer”. The cleaning solution is applied to the carpet and “dirt is wiped away forever”. This last quote, if true, you would never need to clean the carpet again. Wouldn’t that be nice? Back to the sweater; you get a spot on it and use your favorite spot cleaner for clothing. Apply the cleaner then blot, use some water to rinse and blot again. Gets the spot out right? If that works so well, why do you put that sweater in the clothes washer and wash in on the gentle cycle and block to dry vs. spot and blot the whole thing? Take grass stains on the knees of you child’s jeans; you spot and blot those but you also wash them, rinse them, and extract the water (the spin cycle). LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN, You wash, then rinse, then extract. These three steps is how your clean fiber. It does not matter if the fiber is silk, wool, nylon, polypropylene, cotton, or rayon. To clean, you suspend the soil, rinse the soil, and extract the soil. And correct me if I am wrong, but I am under the impression that you hire a carpet cleaner to remove the soil from the carpet/ fiber of your furnishings.

Bob, Aunt Sally and most carpet retailers have no idea how to correctly clean, spot clean or what/ why a vacuum is good, better or indifferent. Compare what I am saying to the manufactures are saying.

Now look at “Steam Cleaning”. Again this is not the best name for this. The better and correct name is “hot water extraction”. And it is just what it says. This method uses hot water with soap for carpet to suspend the soil, rinse the soil with hot water and then extract the soil with a strong vacuum. Same as how your clothes washer does. Fills up with water and soap for clothes, agitates, then that water is replaced with clean water to rinse the soap out, then that water is drained off and the spin cycle kicks in and extracts as much water as possible. Same three steps in carpet cleaning with hot water extraction.

There is also hot foam, dry compound and shampoo that are approved cleaning methods for carpet cleaning. They all have good point and bad points. This is the biggest point. If the person cleaning does not understand what they are doing with the method they are using to clean you will never get a fiber/ carpet clean.

So yes “Dry Cleaning” dries faster than “wet/ steam cleaning” I too can use my truck mounted, hot water extraction equipment to get fast dry times, by using less cleaner and water but again I am under the impression that I was hired to remove as much soil as possible to extend the life of one of the most expensive items to replace in your home.