If I booked a carpet clean advertised as deep steam cleaning, I’d expect the cleaner to use steam. Wouldn’t you? I use steam in my own carpet cleaning work. But the words carpet steam cleaning can mean something quite different depending on who you ask. In the trade, the term is often used to describe hot water extraction, where liquid water is used to rinse the carpet. I’ve used the familiar term that way myself when writing about a carpet cleaning job at a preschool in Greasby. If you’re booking a clean, it’s fair to ask what the cleaner means by it.
Search for a Steam Carpet Cleaner and See What Comes Up
Try typing “steam carpet cleaner” into Google Shopping. You can find machines that produce steam alongside carpet washers and spray-extraction machines. They come up for the same search even though they work differently.
The same thing happens when you look for someone to clean your carpets. Two adverts might say “deep steam cleaning”. One cleaner uses steam and the other uses a water rinse. Both can clean a carpet, but the wording gives you the impression you’re booking the same process. That’s where I think the term can be misleading.
Will Steam Remove That Stain in Your Carpet?
Say you’ve got a coffee stain that’s been there for three weeks, or a dark, oily patch where your dog lies every day. What you want to know is whether I can get it out.
I’d start by asking what caused the mark and what you’ve already tried. Then I’d check the carpet and choose a treatment. With heavily soiled carpets, I often spend extra time working the cleaning solution through the pile before rinsing. I’ve shown how I do that on heavily soiled carpets with dark traffic lines.
On one dried glue removal job on the Wirral, I used steam to soften the water-based glue. Once it began to release, I used hot water extraction to flush the loosened adhesive out of the pile. Steam had a specific job there. Whether I’d use it on another stain depends on what caused the mark and what the carpet can tolerate.
What I’d Ask Before Booking a Carpet Steam Clean
If a cleaner advertises steam cleaning, ask “Do you actually use steam, and how would you tackle this stain?” Show them the mark or the worst part of the carpet and tell them what you’ve already tried. A straight answer about how they’ll treat it and what they expect to remove tells you more than the advert does.
If you have a stubborn stain or a carpet with ground-in dirt, send me a photo and tell me what happened. I’ll explain how I’d tackle it and let you know if I need to see it in person. I’m based in Wallasey and provide professional carpet cleaning across the Wirral.
Henryk, CarpetProCleaning
