How can I dry my steam carpet faster?

Berber, shag, cut pile, loop – at one time or another, all carpet has been soiled by muddy paws, dropped wine, or a sick child. In most of those cases, quick action can prevent a long-lasting stain. But a store-bought carpet cleaner and a few dabs with a washrag won’t clean deep down.

After a few years of foot traffic, four-season weather, and simple day to day life, your carpeting can start to look run down. Not messy necessarily, but it certainly won’t have the lush feel that welcomed bare feet after a long day. And weekly carpet care, such as vacuuming, won’t get the deep-down grime and allergens.

Bring Your Carpet Back To Life

Chances are, most of us haven’t invested in a professional-grade carpet cleaning system. Whether it’s sprucing up the home for holiday gatherings or as part of Spring cleaning, spending the money to get it done right is the only option. But which way do you go?

When it comes time to clean your carpet, really clean your carpet, there are a few options: either hire someone to do it professionally or rent a machine from big-box or grocery stores. What grocery stores know about carpet cleaning, we’re not sure. But they’ve been there forever.

There is one thing everyone can agree on: there’s nothing worse than stepping on a wet carpet with socks. Even a damp carpet will send us scurrying for a pair of dry socks. To get the deepest clean – with as little drying time as possible – you have a few options.

“Steam” Carpet Cleaning

These two processes are the same and have been the most common method of cleaning for decades. Looking like a traditional stand-up vacuum cleaner on steroids, older carpet cleaners have reservoirs for water, cleaning solution, and wastewater. The head of the steam cleaner has several jets that shoot out a lot of water and chemicals and detergents into the carpet.

In some rare cases, this is followed up with a brush head that scrubs the carpeting, loosening up deep down dirt and debris. Finally, the vacuum part of the machine only sucks up about 30% of the water leaving the carpets very wet. With a truck mount steam cleaner, streams of water are replaced by heated steam that is injected into the carpet.

The hot water or “steam” loosens debris and soil and then about 70% of the water is sucked back up. This allows for a little faster drying time than the older styles of traditional cleaning, but can still take 24+ hours of drying time. This is what many folks expect from professional carpet cleaners.

The Deepest Clean, The Fastest Dry

Low-moisture cleaning has also been around for decades, though not as well known. It is becoming a much more popular choice in that it offers a much faster drying time, safer cleaning solutions and it doesn’t break down the carpet structure like steam or hot water extraction can. Using cleaning compounds that are activated with just enough water, low-moisture cleaning provides a deep thorough cleaning that digs away deep-down dirt and debris.

Because so little water is used, you’ll have a dry carpet after cleaning in about one hour. Hot water extraction uses up to 30 times more water, so that’s why it takes so much longer to dry. Low-moisture cleaning uses just enough water to activate the environmentally safe cleaning agents.

A dryer carpet in less time, no lingering wet spots that can cause mildew, and the cleaning compound are environmentally safe. No more wet socks, but you will get a clean, comfortable carpet that you and your family can enjoy once again.

Work With The Experts

Heaven’s Best has been cleaning Vancouver, WA, carpets for more than 20 years and has become the low-moisture cleaning expert of Clark County. In addition to carpet cleaning, we also clean tile and hardwood floors as well as upholstery. Is it time to bring your living room back to life? Contact Heaven’s Best of Vancouver to schedule an appointment.

Hot water extraction (steam cleaning) is one of the most effective ways to clean carpets. It relies on pressurized water heated to extreme temperatures to rinse cleaning agents out of the carpet. After the cleaning process is complete, the carpet typically takes 6 to 12 hours to dry. But wet carpet will take longer to dry in rooms with poor circulation, cold air, or high levels of humidity.

How Long Until Can I Walk Across The Carpet?

You should wait until the carpet is fully dry before walking across it. If you need to get to the sooner, be sure to remove your shoes and stick to the edges of the carpet. Damp carpet is like a magnet for stains. So walking across it before it fully dries can leave a trail of dirt and compressed pile, bringing it back to the condition it was in pre-cleaning.

How to Dry Carpet Fast After Cleaning

There are a number of ways to decrease a carpet’s drying time to give your family free reign of the house once again. Most of the tricks involve increasing the circulation of air in the room.

Fans

Try turning on the ceiling fan in the room with your carpet to help dry it out faster. If your room doesn’t have a ceiling fan, any fan will do. High powered oscillating fans are especially useful.

Open Windows

Opening the windows is another way to get the air moving. However, doing so when it’s cold or humid outside will be counterproductive. But on hot, dry days, an open window can go a long way toward drying your carpets faster.

Dehumidifiers

It might seem obvious, but turning on a dehumidifier is one of the best ways to speed up the carpet drying process. They sap moisture from the room and collect it in a storage tank or direct it toward a drain. If you’re using the storage tank, be sure to check back every few hours to empty it. You’ll be surprised by the amount of water it collects in a room with freshly cleaned carpets.

Air Conditioning

While it might seem counterintuitive, turning on the air conditioner can actually speed up the drying process. Although they lower the temperature in the room, they also remove moisture from the air. A dehumidifier will be more effective, but an air conditioner can get the job done.

Clean More Often

The dirtier a carpet is, the more water it takes to clean. When they’re especially dirty, it can take 24 hours or more to dry a carpet after cleaning. You don’t need to hire a professional carpet cleaner every week by any means. But regular vacuuming and seasonal cleanings will make your carpets dry much faster.

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