Floor Care
How Do I Clean a Carpet with a Steam Cleaner?
Whether you are a professional carpet cleaner or a DIY warrior with a rental machine, the essential steps to cleaning a carpet are the same. Below are the same customer-pleasing methods that my family uses in our professional cleaning service. Get ready to have carpets that are clean, fresh, and smell great, too!
Step 1: Vacuum Carpets - Removing the dry dirt (often referred to as “dry particulate” by cleaning nerds, like me!) is an important step. Even though you may not see a difference, removing pet hair, soil, and other dry contaminants from the carpet allows the steam machine to operate more efficiently. It was once explained to me that it is easier to remove dry dirt than mud. Think about it, before you mop a floor, you sweep up the loose dirt (if this is news, you should see our article: How Do I Clean a Floor With a Mop).
Step 2: Test cleaning agents in an inconspicuous area before cleaning (and read the label to make sure the cleaner is appropriate for your type of carpet). This could be step one, but since it is a good idea to vacuum your carpet regularly, we figured it would be okay to list it as “Step 2.” Find a place in the corner of the room, behind the sofa or a table. Spray some cleaner onto the carpet. Let it sit for a moment or two. Agitate it with a brush or gloved hand. Then, blot with a clean, white towel. Inspect the towel for signs of color loss. If color is transferred to the towel, DO NOT USE THAT CLEANER. Similarly, look for any adverse effects, such as the carpet becoming stiff after the cleaning solution dries.
Step 3: Pretreat spots, stains and traffic areas - Once you have vacuumed away the dry solids hiding in the carpet, inspect the area for trouble spots, stains and high traffic areas. A general purpose spotter can be sprayed directly to the carpet (See our guide: How Do I Clean Spots and Stains From a Carpet). Keep in mind that you want to use only the amount of liquid necessary to remove the spot; never saturate your carpet. Agitate the spot with a soft bristle brush, gloved hand, or (this is my personal favorite) your foot (while in a shoe). Quick note: your shoe should be clean and have non-marking soles. If you are not sure, test in an inconspicuous area.
For large areas, such as that line of dirt you see in doorways (known as a traffic lane), mist a significant amount of pre-spray (or pre-treatment) onto the area and allow it to dwell.
Vocab:
Dwell: the amount of time we let a chemical “work” before the next cleaning step.
Pre-spray: a cleaning chemical that is sprayed onto the carpet before steam cleaning occurs (available in a variety of forms).
Step 4: Work systematically from the furthest end of the room; work left to right.
There’s nothing more frustrating when cleaning a carpet than that moment when you ask yourself, “Did I clean that section?”
A simple technique that we use solves that problem. Start at the furthest corner in the room from the main entry to the room. Work backwards to the door, cleaning from left to right (every rule has it’s exception - see the next step about moving furniture). Why do we work backward? By working our way backward, out of the room, we do not need to walk on the clean carpet. Working in this fashion is efficient and leave little question as to whether a section is completed or not.
Step 5: Clean Under the Furniture (if necessary). Do Not Remove the furniture from the room (it only needs to be moved enough to clean under it). I have arrived at customers' homes to find bathrooms and spare rooms jam packed with the contents of the master bedroom. I can only imagine the time, energy, and frustration my customers put themselves through thinking it was the only way we could clean all the carpet in the room.
Before you waste your time and energy moving lots of furniture, ask yourself “Is it necessary to clean the carpet under this piece of furniture?” I do not move china cabinets, most beds, television stands (with televisions on them) and large furnishings that are flush to the floor. Odds are, there is nothing but dust under there. A simple vacuuming will do the job just fine.
If you are going to move furniture, consider if there are “breakables” that need to be secured before you move it. I have found that after all the time and energy, unless there is a reason (such as the cat has been using the area behind the breakfront as her second litter box), then there is little reason to go through all the trouble.
Having said all that, for the furniture you are going to move, move the pieces only as much as necessary to clean where the piece of furniture sits, then move it back to its place. When there is enough space, I move furniture to the middle of the room. I then clean the perimeter of the room; move the furniture back in place, then I clean the center of the room (using the furthest end of the room; left-to-right technique described in “Step 4.”
Step 6: Overlap your work - and allow the machine and chemical time to work.
Once you clean a section, move your machine over approximately half of its width. It is a rare carpet cleaning machine (even a professional truck mount machine) that only needs one pass to clean a carpet.
For carpets that need extra attention, I will re-clean an area by turning myself 90-degrees. This allows the carpet fibers to be cleaned from a different direction, giving you the results you are looking for.
Step 7: Protect furniture from wet carpet / Protect the carpet from furniture stain and rust.
Wet carpet and furniture do get along. Wood furniture stain can seep into a wet carpet; metal chair legs can leave rust marks on a wet carpet. These stains from furniture are some of the hardest stains to remove from carpets. There is a simple solution: take measures to protect the carpet and furniture from each other.
Professionals use carpet pads and blocks to place under furniture after they have cleaned an area. If you do not have access to these, you can use pieces of aluminum foil for the same purpose. Aluminum foil does not rust and will not allow water to pass through.
Cut pieces of aluminum foil to place between the furniture and the carpet. Allow these to stay in place until the carpet is dry UNDER the aluminum foil. Once the carpet is dry, you may remove the foil.
Bonus Tips:
Step 1: Vacuum Carpets - Removing the dry dirt (often referred to as “dry particulate” by cleaning nerds, like me!) is an important step. Even though you may not see a difference, removing pet hair, soil, and other dry contaminants from the carpet allows the steam machine to operate more efficiently. It was once explained to me that it is easier to remove dry dirt than mud. Think about it, before you mop a floor, you sweep up the loose dirt (if this is news, you should see our article: How Do I Clean a Floor With a Mop).
Step 2: Test cleaning agents in an inconspicuous area before cleaning (and read the label to make sure the cleaner is appropriate for your type of carpet). This could be step one, but since it is a good idea to vacuum your carpet regularly, we figured it would be okay to list it as “Step 2.” Find a place in the corner of the room, behind the sofa or a table. Spray some cleaner onto the carpet. Let it sit for a moment or two. Agitate it with a brush or gloved hand. Then, blot with a clean, white towel. Inspect the towel for signs of color loss. If color is transferred to the towel, DO NOT USE THAT CLEANER. Similarly, look for any adverse effects, such as the carpet becoming stiff after the cleaning solution dries.
Step 3: Pretreat spots, stains and traffic areas - Once you have vacuumed away the dry solids hiding in the carpet, inspect the area for trouble spots, stains and high traffic areas. A general purpose spotter can be sprayed directly to the carpet (See our guide: How Do I Clean Spots and Stains From a Carpet). Keep in mind that you want to use only the amount of liquid necessary to remove the spot; never saturate your carpet. Agitate the spot with a soft bristle brush, gloved hand, or (this is my personal favorite) your foot (while in a shoe). Quick note: your shoe should be clean and have non-marking soles. If you are not sure, test in an inconspicuous area.
For large areas, such as that line of dirt you see in doorways (known as a traffic lane), mist a significant amount of pre-spray (or pre-treatment) onto the area and allow it to dwell.
Vocab:
Dwell: the amount of time we let a chemical “work” before the next cleaning step.
Pre-spray: a cleaning chemical that is sprayed onto the carpet before steam cleaning occurs (available in a variety of forms).
Step 4: Work systematically from the furthest end of the room; work left to right.
There’s nothing more frustrating when cleaning a carpet than that moment when you ask yourself, “Did I clean that section?”
A simple technique that we use solves that problem. Start at the furthest corner in the room from the main entry to the room. Work backwards to the door, cleaning from left to right (every rule has it’s exception - see the next step about moving furniture). Why do we work backward? By working our way backward, out of the room, we do not need to walk on the clean carpet. Working in this fashion is efficient and leave little question as to whether a section is completed or not.
Step 5: Clean Under the Furniture (if necessary). Do Not Remove the furniture from the room (it only needs to be moved enough to clean under it). I have arrived at customers' homes to find bathrooms and spare rooms jam packed with the contents of the master bedroom. I can only imagine the time, energy, and frustration my customers put themselves through thinking it was the only way we could clean all the carpet in the room.
Before you waste your time and energy moving lots of furniture, ask yourself “Is it necessary to clean the carpet under this piece of furniture?” I do not move china cabinets, most beds, television stands (with televisions on them) and large furnishings that are flush to the floor. Odds are, there is nothing but dust under there. A simple vacuuming will do the job just fine.
If you are going to move furniture, consider if there are “breakables” that need to be secured before you move it. I have found that after all the time and energy, unless there is a reason (such as the cat has been using the area behind the breakfront as her second litter box), then there is little reason to go through all the trouble.
Having said all that, for the furniture you are going to move, move the pieces only as much as necessary to clean where the piece of furniture sits, then move it back to its place. When there is enough space, I move furniture to the middle of the room. I then clean the perimeter of the room; move the furniture back in place, then I clean the center of the room (using the furthest end of the room; left-to-right technique described in “Step 4.”
Step 6: Overlap your work - and allow the machine and chemical time to work.
Once you clean a section, move your machine over approximately half of its width. It is a rare carpet cleaning machine (even a professional truck mount machine) that only needs one pass to clean a carpet.
For carpets that need extra attention, I will re-clean an area by turning myself 90-degrees. This allows the carpet fibers to be cleaned from a different direction, giving you the results you are looking for.
Step 7: Protect furniture from wet carpet / Protect the carpet from furniture stain and rust.
Wet carpet and furniture do get along. Wood furniture stain can seep into a wet carpet; metal chair legs can leave rust marks on a wet carpet. These stains from furniture are some of the hardest stains to remove from carpets. There is a simple solution: take measures to protect the carpet and furniture from each other.
Professionals use carpet pads and blocks to place under furniture after they have cleaned an area. If you do not have access to these, you can use pieces of aluminum foil for the same purpose. Aluminum foil does not rust and will not allow water to pass through.
Cut pieces of aluminum foil to place between the furniture and the carpet. Allow these to stay in place until the carpet is dry UNDER the aluminum foil. Once the carpet is dry, you may remove the foil.
Bonus Tips:
- Don’t go crazy if you can’t remove every spot and spill from your carpet. Unfortunately, when it comes to textiles, there are a lot of variables that affect whether a spot can be removed. On several occasions I have run into the situation where two spots are on the carpet; sometimes inches apart, that look like they were caused from the same spill. One comes out with little effort, the other won’t budge. It is an unfortunate nature of the beast of textile cleaning.
- Work in small sections. Yes, it is important to look at the “big picture,” but when it comes to cleaning, focusing on the small area you are working will help you achieve the best possible results. When I’m cleaning a room, I imagine that it is separated into four sections, defined by the corners. I focus my energy on the quadrant that I am in. If the space is big enough, I will separate the quadrant into smaller sections. Why do I do this? If I’m focused on getting the “whole-job-done” then I am inclined to say to myself, “I’ll come back later to remove this spot that needs a little extra attention.” Odds are, I will either forget or lose my motivation by then. Better to clean every spot in its entirety the first time around.
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