Does Dry Cleaning Carpet Really Work?

Summer is over and the holidays will soon be here, which means now is the perfect time to schedule your carpet cleaning in South Amboy, NJ. The only question is, should you dry clean or steam clean your carpets?

Welcome to the old debate: dry clean vs. steam clean. Dry cleaning methods use chemical-based dry shampoo that includes special solvents and cleaning agents. This dry shampoo is worked into your carpet using a machine with rotating brushes. After the solvent is left to sit in your carpet for a few minutes, it is vacuumed up. With steam cleaning, the carpet is pre-conditioned with a cleaning agent that liquefies soils and oil-based substances. Then, water that is pressurized and heated to a near-boiling point is injected into the carpet and, after a few minutes, removed with a special vacuum.

Steam cleaning is the more traditional form of carpet cleaning, the most widely used, and is recommended by both carpet manufacturers and industry cleaning experts. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that dry cleaning isn’t effective as well. So let’s take a closer look at these two methods on a few important points:

  • Effectiveness: Both dry cleaning and steam cleaning appear to clean carpets really well – on the surface. If you take a closer look, however, you may see something different. Steam cleaning is the only method of cleaning that reaches all the way down to the lowest layers of your carpeting and is best for removing deep, ground-in stains. In fact, steam cleaning removes at least 97 percent of dirt, allergens and bacteria hiding deep in your carpeting. Although dry cleaning looks clean on the surface, dig a little deeper and you will find that it leaves a lot of dirt behind, and deep stains often reappear shortly after cleaning.
  • Wait times: Both dry and steam cleaning processes take about the same time to clean your carpet. The difference is how long you have to wait after cleaning before you can walk on your carpet. In this category, dry cleaning is the better choice. You can walk on a carpet that was dry cleaned within a few minutes. With steam cleaning, you may have to wait anywhere from a few hours to the next day for the carpet to completely dry.
  • Safe cleaning: Both methods typically use chemical-based cleaners, whether in powder or liquid form. However, most companies can offer green carpet cleaning options as well for both methods. The only difference is that steam cleaning removes about 97 percent of the cleaning solution while dry cleaning can leave a lot of chemical residue behind.

So, which cleaning method is best for you? Well, if you want a fast surface clean so you can use your room again right away, the dry cleaning method is your best option. But if you want a safe, effective and deep clean, steam cleaning is the only way to go. To schedule your next steam carpet cleaning in South Amboy, NJ, get in touch with Lov ‘N Kare Carpet Center today!