By: Richard Byrne Source: Nationwide Consumer Testing Institute

Everyone seems to be in the Carpet Cleaning Business, with many different methods. With the help of Nationwide Consumer Testing, I have evaluated the Different Carpet Cleaning Methods so that you, as a consumer, can decide which method is best for your purposes.

The results of these comprehensive tests show that Circular Dry-Foam Carpet Cleaning Method did a superior job over all other processes.

Nationwide Consumer Testing found that the Steam methods, which are misnamed because they don't use Steam, did only a surface cleaning. The hot water detergent solution that was shot into the carpet, forced more dirt deeper into the carpet than it removed. Soil removal was 15.6%. The high amount of detergent residue remaining in the carpet caused it to resoil in 2 to 3 months. Drying time was from 1 to 5 days with the average being 2 1/2 days.  

The Chemical Dry, Rotary Brush, and Shampoo methods removed a higher percentage of soil (21% to 46.5%) but the remaining residue was high and it resoiled in 3 to 5 months. Drying time was from 1 to 4 days with the average being 2 days.

The combination of Shampoo and Steam had poor soil removal (25.1%) with a high level of detergent residue causing carpets to resoil rapidly in 1 to 2 months. Drying time was from 2 to 7 days with the average being 3 1/4 days.

The aerosol spray cans and the small Shampoo, Steam and Rinse machines-for-rent did such a poor cleaning job that Nationwide Consumer Testing discontinued testing these methods. They said, "They can advertise all they want, but these methods have very poor soil removal and very high detergent residue."

The Best Carpet Cleaning Process found by Nationwide Consumer Testing is the Circular Dry-Foam Carpet Cleaning Method They said, "Our research shows that the Circular Dry-Foam Carpet Cleaning Method with separate initial and finish vacuuming, really removes the dirt and keeps the carpet looking better, longer."