Carpet Steam Cleaning vs Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaning
+ 1300 136 776
There are a lot of customers who just assume that carpet steam cleaning is the most effective way of cleaning a carpet. Provided the technician takes great care and his equipment is very good, this can be correct. The other thing to consider is that the steam cleaning chemicals have to be eco-friendly and state of the art. This is a big ask in the unregulated Sydney carpet cleaning industry.
What can go wrong with steam cleaning a carpet?
When carpets are steam cleaned, large amounts of water are used to rinse the fibres clean. At the same time, the dirty water is vacuumed out of the carpet. Where things go wrong is when the vacuum suction is not strong enough to prevent the carpet backing and underlay from getting wet. Fitted carpets cannot be dried properly once this happens. Instead of some hours, the carpets will take days to dry out. Customers may think their carpets are dry because the top of the fibres may feel dry.
What is in actual fact happening can be quite confronting. Damp or wet carpet backing is the ideal breeding ground for mould incubation. This quite often is how sick building syndrome starts and soon mould spores can spread to other furnishings and indeed other rooms in the house.
The temptation with a stubborn stain is to try harder to try and remove the stain. This can also be counterproductive. If you have already steam cleaned the carpet, the chances of saturating a stained area of the carpet become likely. Very wet carpet can react with the jute backing and cause a permanent brown stain. These stains can often be much larger than the original marks.
Wool fibres do not respond well to steam cleaning. The fibres are often damaged and the natural lanolin gets removed during the cleaning process. As lanolin has natural water and stain repellent properties, the woollen carpets will lose this property during this type of cleaning.
Steam cleaners may be tempted to buy the cheapest detergent or cleaning chemicals. Their equipment could be quite expensive and the temptation to save on chemical cost too great. These chemicals often contain surfactants leading to rapid re-soiling. The more you clean – the more you need to clean. The effect on carpet fibres can be quite negative and could shorten the life of your carpets significantly.
Getting carpets too wet can also lead to shrinkage and splitting of seams. After a carpet has been cleaned with a lot of water – look for the tell-tale signs. The carpet may not be right next to your skirting board. If you can see the smooth edge or underlay, your carpet has shrunk. These are extreme instances where the carpet steam cleaning technician was inexperienced, using cheap or defective equipment or just careless.
Lack of attention to detail. Consider the company that charges $95 for 4 rooms of carpet. What is wrong here? The following issues are very often found.
- The price could be misleading. Some companies charge extra for heavy-duty cleaners or stains.
- Shoddy workmanship – missing easy to remove stains or moving no furniture.
- No attention to detail with technicians doing a job that should take 2 hours in 30 minutes.
- The staff may be are travellers, underpaid and not trained properly.
- Poor service after the work completion. No return visits or dispute resolution.
- The cleaning work may not be insured.
- You may have an owner-operator working himself to an early grave.
- Cheap jobs are cancelled quite often for more lucrative options
We all love a bargain. Reflect on Sydney with tolls and traffic. It takes time to travel, pay for insurance, pay for petrol, pay for quality cleaning solutions and spot removers. If you are after professional quality carpet cleaning the above-advertised price seen so often is best to be avoided like the plague.
What Makes Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaning Different?
We take more time per job, use experienced cleaners and the best cleaning solutions that the industry has. We are able to combine methods of steam and dry cleaning to get the best results for a specific job.
Chem-Dry uses about seventy to eighty percent less water in the carpet cleaning process. We use a carbonated process where the carpet is mostly dry within 1 – 2 hours after cleaning. Less water means much less chance of getting moisture in the backing and underlay of the carpets. With Chem-Dry, there will be no hidden surprises, just clean and healthy carpets. We only use the finest and most effective eco-friendly cleaning solutions. Our quality workmanship is regulated by our own internal 5-star training program. With us you will get:
- No shrinkage or seam splits.
- The best eco-friendly cleaning solutions.
- Carpets stay cleaner for longer.
- You can walk on your carpets when we finish.
- Dispute resolution that looks after you.
- Professional fully insured service.
- Knowledgable experienced technicians.