, a dirty carpet can make a room look run down and shabby. That's why it is such an asset to know how to steam clean a carpet. When a carpet is clean, it makes the whole room feel clean. Steam cleaning gives it a deep scrubbing that removes stains and odors. It freshens up the space, making it feel and look attractive again.

In this article, we'll explain how to remove everything from room, describe how to vacuum the space, and go through how to steam clean the carpet.

Step 1: Remove everything from the room. Remove small items such as toys, books, end tables, and any other small items from the floor. You can move all your furniture if you have the help. However, if you don’t, only removing the lighter items like ottomans, small chairs or floor lamps will work fine.

Step 2: Vacuum the space A key step in preparing to steam clean a carpet is removing any loose debris. So vacuum the carpet and baseboards.

If you don’t vacuum up the dust and dirt on your carpet, you will only push it further into the fibers and padding. You should use the vacuum dusting attachment to clean your baseboards before you start on the actual carpet. When you vacuum the carpet, you want to do it slowly so you pick up all the debris. If you have time, you might want to consider vacuuming it twice, each time from a different direction.

Step 3: Steam clean the carpet

Materials Needed

Carpet steam cleaner

Steam cleaner carpet shampoo

First thing first, you'll need to buy or rent a carpet steam cleaner. Depending on how much carpet you have and how often it needs to be cleaned, you will have to decide if buying your own it worth it. There are advantages in both situations. If you own a cleaner, you can use it whenever you want and you don’t have to worry about transporting it. There are several highly rated

carpet steam cleaners

that can be purchased online and shipped to your home or bought at a nearby store. However, renting has its own advantages. You don’t have to worry about storing the cleaner or maintaining it. Each time you rent one, you get to use a newer model and if you have any problems, you can exchange it for a proper working one.

Step 2: Follow directions for preparing cleaner. Each cleaner has its own set of manufacturer’s directions on what type of shampoo to use and how to clean the carpet.

If you own the carpet steam cleaner, it is highly recommended you follow the included instructions but it is totally up to you if you want to. If you rent it, you must follow the instructions the renter gives you or you may have to pay damages if anything goes wrong. The directions are basically the same. You will have to fill the water container with the recommended amount of water and shampoo. Then you will switch it on and wait for it to be ready.

Step 3: Follow the directions for steam cleaning. Again, each cleaner has its own set of manufacturer’s directions on what type of shampoo to use and how to steam clean the carpet.

There are basically two ways to steam clean a carpet. They start out about the same. When you push the steam cleaner forward, the water and shampoo will push out and onto the carpet. When you pull back, it will extract the moisture out. You want to make sure to pull back slowly as you want to pull out much moisture out as possible.

During all of this, the scrubbers on the cleaner are doing their jobs at working the stains out. How the steam cleaning ends is how it may differ. Some shampoos require that you go over the carpet again, but this time there is only water in the water container. Think of it as a rinse cycle. However, some shampoos have a neutralizer and do not require this second rinse.

Step 4: Let the carpet dry. Before you can put anything back, you must let your carpet dry completely.

The best time to clean your carpet is when it is nice outside so you can open your windows and let warm air into the house. This will help it dry faster. You do not want mildew to form and run all your hard work. Once your carpet is completely dry, you can replace all your furniture and other items.

Cleaning your carpet can be quite a task, but it will leave you with a room that looks fresh and inviting. Remember to remove everything from the room and vacuum the baseboards and carpet before you start to steam clean your carpets. How often you remove the stains and odors from your floorings depend on the usage of the space, but once a year a good place to start. Just remember to maintain your carpet in between, checking for

wear and tear

and replacing when needed.

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