Cleaning
Methods
Hot Water Extraction or 'Steam' Cleaning:
Portable or truck-mounted equipment is used to spray heated detergent solution into the carpet pile at a high pressure and immediately extracted along with the suspended soil particles. The machine may employ rotary brushes or another agitating device to work the solution into the pile and loosen soil.
Factors that affect the results of this method are:
- operator skill
- solution temperature
- spray pressure
- vacuum power
- prespray: spraying solution some time before extracting
TIP: Some "truck-mounted" units are merely portable units bolted onto the truck. Remember, the most effective machine would be powered by the truck's engine and not your residential electric supply.