Keeping Your Business and Home Clean

When you lead a busy lifestyle, it's easy to put off doing things or forget about them altogether. If you forget to schedule carpet cleaning in advance of an important gathering in your home, you may fret it's too late because the carpet won't have time to dry. It's true, you should stay off carpeting when it's wet, but fortunately, when you have carpet professionally cleaned, it dries fairly fast. Here's a look at the different ways you can clean your carpet and how it affects drying time.

Rented Carpet Cleaners

If you need your carpets dry in a hurry, then you should avoid the rental machines. The machines aren't powerful enough to pull all the water out of carpet fibers. They may do a fairly good job of cleaning the carpet in an emergency, but you may have to wait until the next day for the carpet to be dry enough to walk on. If you're not careful about making slow and multiple passes over the carpet, you may leave more than expected amounts of water behind. This leads to an even longer drying time that could keep your carpets damp for so long that mold is a concern or a bad odor develops. If you choose to rent a carpet cleaning machine, follow the instructions thoroughly so you don't leave too much water behind. Still, expect to wait about a day before guests can walk on the carpet.

Professional Steam Cleaning

Professional cleaning is the best way to go. The equipment used is so powerful that it pulls most of the water out of the carpet so it doesn't take nearly as long to dry. You should be able to walk on the carpet in just a few hours. This eliminates concern with developing a bad odor and mold. Steam cleaning is actually a form of hot water extraction. The cleaning solution is activated by hot water and then the cleaning machine pulls it out of the carpet. This involves the use of water, and that's why the carpet will be wet for a few hours depending on the humidity and temperature in your home. If you have your carpets cleaned early in the day, they should be ready for entertaining guests in the evening.

Carpet Dry Cleaning

Another option is to have your carpet dry cleaned with chemicals. However, you should know that even this method uses water, although it's a minimal amount. To clean your carpet this way, the cleaner applies chemicals that break up dirt and agitates them into the carpet. The dry chemicals are activated by water or a liquid cleaning solution. The liquid is then extracted from the carpet. Because there was not much water used and because the machines are powerful, the carpet is only slightly damp when finished. You can usually walk on a carpet that is dry-cleaned right away. That's what makes this a popular choice in commercial buildings that can't risk having carpet wet for very long.

There are variables like temperature, air circulation, and humidity that affect how quickly your wet carpet will dry. When drying quickly is your concern, you can place fans in the room, turn on the AC, and even use a dehumidifier if you have one or can rent one. For more information, contact companies like Wood's Cleaning & Restoration.