People don’t give their carpet proper attention. At least not in time. Carpets endure the everyday messes of daily life. Sometimes the messes are too great to ignore. Only then the carpets get attention. But for a healthy lifestyle, a clean carpet is a necessity as it is touched all day long, kids play on them, elders work or relax on them.
Another thing that helps to have a healthy lifestyle is a handheld steam cleaner. It cleans various things in the house. So if you ask, “Can I use a handheld steam cleaner on carpet?”
the answer will be ‘Yes’; a handheld steam cleaner not only cleans a carpet but keeps its health in check. As it doesn’t require any chemical solution and disinfect the carpet.
How to use a handheld steam cleaner on your carpet
It’s always best to call for a professional carpet cleaning team. Professional carpet cleaners use a steam cleaner to deep clean the carpet. But due to high expene everyone can’t afford it. You can buy a handheld steam cleaner and do it by yourself.
Just read the instructions, particularly for the machine. And for the procedure, you can follow the steps below-
Clear the space
It’s best to have the room having the carpet completely cleared up before starting cleaning. Any clutter will obstruct your job. Start with small things, like paper, bottles, toys, or other items. Then go for the bigger ones. Move them to another room. Move all the table chairs, furniture, everything so that you can move properly and reach every corner of the carpet.
If you feel any furniture is too big to move, you have to cover the furniture’s legs. Otherwise, the steam or wet carpet will damage them. An aluminum foil or a plastic wrapper also can be beneficial to cover the legs up.
Now, if you don’t have another room to move anything to. Then move the furniture to a particular side of the room. Clean the other side, dry up the carpet completely. Then move it to the clean part. Then go for that part of the room and clean it.
Dry clean the carpet
A steam cleaner is meant to clean the dirt that is stuck deep in the carpet. It is not for loose debris. So you need to clear the carpet yourself before you use the steamer.
- The first time, take a vacuum and run in one direction. Move slowly so that you can remove all the dust particles along with any pet hairs.
- For the second time, go from the opposite direction so that nothing remains. Vacuum the carpet entirely to remove the bugs properly. For the edges, you can use a nozzle attachment.
The high traffic areas are full of loose dirt. So give them extra attention. Vacuuming the carpet properly helps the fibers fluff up, and steam goes into them easily during the deep cleaning.
Go for the spots before cleaning
Any food or drink spills can make stains on the carpet. Pet urine and even lipstick marks can be messy. These types of stains can be impossible for the handheld steam cleaner to remove. So you have to use a spot cleaning method.
- You can use any chemical-based stain remover or a natural solution. You can go for any homemade solution too.
- Saturate a cloth with the carpet stain remover and apply or just pour the solution onto the spot.
- Leave it for a few minutes. Then you need to blot the spot with a clean cloth.
Never rub the stain or scrub with any remover. It will make your work more difficult by pushing the stain even deeper.
Prepare the steam cleaner
Some steam cleaners have a lid to remove on the water tank, while others have a completely untouchable tank. You go accordingly with your cleaner. Then fill the tank with water. Close the lid or put the tank back in its place. The tank has a mark of its capacity. Always try to pour water a little less than its capacity.
Some steam cleaners allow you to add several cleaning solutions or detergents. You can add as well if you wish. But make sure to check two things. First, you need to check the machine’s manufacturer instructions to know which product you can add. Then you need to know which product you can apply to the carpet. Then you can go to the next step. Some cleaners have a different place to add detergent. But if your machine doesn’t have this feature, you have to mix it with the water then fill the tank.
Then plug the power cord and turn on the machine. Set the particular time you need and heat the water. You can add hot water too. It will reduce the pressure on the cleaner. Always add boiling water or let the machine heat the water properly if you want to kill the bugs hiding in your carpet.
Remember, if you are allergic to any detergent chemicals or any cleaning solution, don’t use it in the machine. Just mix vinegar to the water in a 1:1 ratio and apply it to clean the carpet naturally. You can even go with simple distilled water as the machine disinfects the carpet itself. And the steam is enough to clear any stuck dirt in the carpet.
Start cleaning
Once you are ready to run the machine start cleaning the carpet. First, decide which way or direction is best for you to clean. Try to start from the farthest from the door. Start from a corner, then go in a straight line toward the other wall. Do not run the machine in a forward direction, as it will make you step on the cleaned portion. The cleaned part is just wetted. So if you step or walk on there, it will lead the moisture deep into the underlay. In that case, the carpet won’t dry up easily. So, try to run the machine and walk backward.
When you’ve covered the whole carpet, run the cleaner a second time. Steam cleaners use hot steam on the carpet to loosen the dirt up, then suck up the dirty water simultaneously. So it is a possibility for extra moisture to be left on the carpet. So running the machine a second time will make sure there is excess moisture left on the carpet.
Handheld Steam cleaners do not work too quickly. It has to apply hot water steam, then suck all the dirty water back. So, you need to be slow too. Don’t walk too quickly, or don’t make the pass too quickly. Give the machine time to extract all the moisture. Otherwise, your carpet will remain wet for too long. Which will lead it to grow molds and mildews.
Once you are done, get out of the door, and go to another room. If you clean the carpet in this direction, it’ll help you not step unnecessarily on the wet carpet.
Some benefits you’ll get from using a handheld steam cleaner on your carpet
- Handheld steam cleaners don’t need any chemicals necessary to clean your carpet. It’s optional whether you’ll add detergent or not.
- The steam itself is powerful enough to clean any dried and harsh specks of dirt in the carpet.
- The steam penetrates the fibers, gets to the deepest into the carpet, and cleans it from inside.
- It even helps you to clean up lots of stains. The strong vapor gets into the stubborn stains like food stains or liquid spill stains, loosens it up then cleans it with efficiency.
- Cleaners with chemicals mostly work on the carpet surface. They don’t deep clean it. Even leave residues, which harms the kids along with the carpet. But a handheld steam cleaner doesn’t have that problem, as it doesn’t leave any residues on the carpet after a deep clean.
- Besides cleaning, it kills 99% of the germs and bacteria also. That means it sanitizes your carpet without any chemicals.
Conclusion
The handheld steam cleaner will clean your carpet and even disinfect your carpet without harming it. It’ll do its job better than many other machines without any doubt. Must be careful about some things while cleaning. One of them is to dry the carpet after a deep clean. You should let dry 100% before using it again. Stepping on the wet carpet can harm the carpet fiber. If it is a necessity to use that room, try not to wear any shoes or slippers. You can wear a plastic wrapper, which will keep you from making footsteps on the carpet.