caring for your home before the cleaners come

Choosing Between The Top 3 Methods Of Dry Cleaning Your Carpet

If your carpet has been damaged following a flood, plumbing issue or other water-related mishap, you might be interested in dry cleaning options to avoid any additional water damage or humidity. Believe it or not, dry cleaning carpeting is actually quite common, especially when the carpeting has already experienced damage. Dry cleaning isn't entirely free of liquid, it simply avoids excess moisture and saturation. Below are three methods of carpet dry cleaning to choose from.

Dry-Compound Cleaning

Dry-compound cleaning may be used if your carpeting is still wet and if it has been saturated with foreign materials, such as dirt from outside during a flood. A dry compound mixture which resembles sawdust is dusted over your carpet and allowed to become completely saturated. Once the compound has wicked up much of the liquid matter, the dry-compound is then vacuumed up.

Dry-compound cleaning is often used in conjunction with other cleaning methods; you might use dry-compound cleaning before a dry-chemical cleaning or even before a wet type of cleaning such as hot water extraction. It's often the fastest way to get moisture out of a carpet -- which is helpful, because the longer the moisture remains, the more damage will be done.

Dry-Chemical Cleaning

Dry-chemical cleaning involves the application of a chemical shampoo, after which a barrier is placed just above your carpet and a machine agitates the carpet materials. It's generally considered to be more effective at cleaning stains compared to dry-foam cleaning, but it may also damage your carpeting if your carpeting is particularly fragile. The only issue with dry-chemical cleaning is that it has a tendency not to pierce the surface of the carpet; in other words, it may not get deep down into the carpet where mold or mildew may be lurking.

Dry-Foam Cleaning

A shampoo foam is gently worked into your carpeting and then allowed to dry. Once it dries into a fine powder, it is then vacuumed up using a commercial cleaning machine. The shampoo foam will work any debris and odors out of your carpet. The catch, however, is that it's usually not effective at getting out staining or worse damage. If you have mold damage in your carpet, for instance, it usually won't be overly effective.

Whether any of the above methods are suitable for your carpet depends largely on the situation and what has transpired. Contact a local water damage restoration carpet cleaning service like Concord Carpet Care and advise them regarding your concerns, and they should be able to find a suitable fix for you.