There are several different cleaning methods used by various professional cleaners. Here’s an overview of them.
Dry Absorbent Powder
The dry-compound method spreads a moist, absorbent powder through the carpet. The powder is allowed to dry and then sucked into a vacuum. This method leaves dry sponge particles at the base of the carpet yarn. And because the carpet is not rinsed, this method is not very effective.
Absorbent Pad (Bonnet Cleaning)
This method is similar to dry foam, except that the cleaner sets a large cotton pad on your carpet. The rotating motion of his scrubber causes the pad to absorb dirt from your carpet. This method is also called bonnet cleaning. Bonnet cleaning is like trying to use a large cotton towel or mop to rub the dirt out of your carpet. It’s not very effective.
Encapsulation Cleaning with a Cimex Machine
If your carpet is Berber or perhaps a glued-down commercial carpet, we have excellent results using a low-moisture cleaning method called encapsulation. It’s quick drying. It ensures that all coffee and food spots are gone—forever. Results are remarkable on Berber carpet, often better than when we use our high-powered truck-mount… That grey traffic lane is erased. For more technical info on Encapsulation check out http://www.excellent-supply.com/How-Encapsulation-Carpet-Cleaning-Works_ep_54-1.html.
Hot Water Extraction
This a fancy way of saying that a hot water cleaning solution under high pressure is forced into your carpet and then sucked out of your carpet. In a recent Technical Bulletin, Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, “recommends the hot water extraction system for most residential carpet, which research indicates provides the best capability for cleaning”.
You can choose from two different types: Truck-mount extraction, which is done with a large machine mounted in a van; or portable extraction, which is done with a small unit that can be brought inside your home.
On which type to choose, Shaw’s Technical Bulletin states: “(Cleaning) can be done from a truck-mounted unit outside the home with only the hose and tools brought inside, or where a truck mounted unit cannot reach, by a portable, self-contained system brought into the home.”
As you can see, Shaw recommends the truck mounted unit first. And this isn’t surprising. You see, the truck-mounted unit cleans much more efficiently on your nylon or acrylic carpet. It heats the water to a higher temperature–and shoots the cleaning solution into the carpet at higher pressures. This breaks up the dirt, bacteria, chemicals and pollen in the carpet. Then the machine uses high suction to draw the dirt and cleaning agents out of your carpet. This is one of the two methods that Ideal Carpet Cleaning uses.
No question, the most effective way to clean nylon or acrylic carpeting is with a hot water unit mounted in a truck. It’s the most powerful cleaning machine on the market and the only machine that cleans your carpet of dirt, harmful bacteria, fungus, chemicals, pollen and tobacco residue. Some people believe that hot water damages your carpet, but this isn’t true. By washing and then rinsing your carpet with hot water, I clean your carpet completely–in the same way that the person who showers and then rinses off the dirt and soap will be much cleaner than the person who takes only a sponge bath.