Dry Cleaning vs Steam Cleaning Your Carpets - Which Option is Best?
If You Need Help Moving, Call in the Experts
October 2018
Moving day is full of tedious tasks, from sorting through endless amounts of bits and pieces that have accumulated over the years, to individually wrapping every glass and mug that you own. But none are as tedious as the dreaded final clean before you hand over the keys to your old home for good. You’re excited about moving into your new place, but regardless of whether you’ve bought it or are renting it, either situation entails one last clean up before you leave.
The difference between leaving a rental property compared to leaving your own home is that your final clean must be signed off by the landlord or letting agent, and you may be called back to clean again if it doesn’t meet their expectations. So, it pays to get it right the first time.
The biggest headache when cleaning before you move, is cleaning the carpets, particularly if there are a few extra stains from when you first moved in. Many people opt to get their carpets professionally cleaned before they move out, to ensure the carpets look good as new.
Whether you opt for a professional carpet cleaning service, or go with the DIY option of renting a carpet cleaning machine yourself, there are two main ways to clean your carpet, steam clean or dry clean.
What is Steam Cleaning?
Steam cleaning is also known as hot water extraction, yet despite the name there is no actual steam involved. This method starts with an overall vacuum of the carpets, spot treatments, and a pre-steam spray to allow the carpet to soften before the steam clean. The actual steam clean entails injecting water into the carpet with a high-pressure jet spray and then vacuuming the water back out.
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What is the Drying Time for a Steam Clean?
As hot water is being sprayed onto your carpets with some force, you can expect a deep clean of your carpets. But the deeper the clean, the deeper the moisture in your carpets and therefore the longer you need to allow for your carpets to fully dry. You should allow up to 24 hours for your carpets to fully dry after a steam clean.
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Benefits and Drawbacks of a Steam Clean
A steam clean will allow for a more thorough clean of your carpets and can help remove those hard to budge stains. However, you can run the risk of over wetting your carpets which can leave a musty smell, or even leave water stains in the carpet. Also, the cleaning agents used in a steam clean can stick to carpet fibre during carpet cleaning process and can be hard to lift, leaving an unpleasant sticky residue that can collect dirt and make your carpets appear worse over time. You also have to allow for a longer drying time.
What is Dry Cleaning?
Dry cleaning your carpets still uses some water, although a lot less water than when steam cleaning, so it’s not entirely “dry” as the name suggests. The dry-cleaning method also entails an initial vacuum, and then a dry-cleaning solution is applied to the carpets to help release the build-up of dirt that has been trapped in the carpet fibres. A machine with rotating pads made from absorbent cotton is then used to work out the dirt, water and cleaning solution. The machine looks a lot like a floor polisher.
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What is the Drying Time for a Dry Clean?
A dry clean will leave your carpet dry enough to walk on straight away, and completely dry within an hour or two. This is ideal for when you need a quick turnaround on getting the carpets cleaned and allow you to hand the keys over sooner.
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Benefits and Drawbacks of a Dry Clean
As well as your carpets being usable almost straight away, there are some other benefits to a dry clean. Dry cleaning tends to remove more stains than other cleaning methods, and it’s ideal for areas that endure a lot of traffic.
Which carpet cleaning method should you use?
This depends on the condition you want to leave the carpet in, and the amount of time you have available before you have to hand the keys over. Both are effective cleaning methods, but will leave your carpet in slightly different conditions. Dry cleaning carpets is a common method for those who are moving out of a house. A quick turnaround can be key, as there are so many tasks to complete before you move out.
Once you’ve decided on what cleaning method you’ll use before you move house, it’ll be time to choose a house removalist company to help you move, along with storage solutions, transit insurance and more. Good luck!
For more information on carpet cleaning, get in touch with Drytron: Drytron.com.au