Everyone loves the smell, feel and look of a freshly cleaned carpet. It gives any guest into your home a more welcomed feel and, lets face it, kind of fills you with pride when it comes up looking pristine, but not enough of us out there don’t understand the real dangers of trying to get it professionally cleaned through homemade methods or machines.
The convenience of hiring a small machine for the day from a DIY store and heading home to get the results you’ve seen through their adverts, in all honesty, really isn’t possible. This simple guide will give you all the reasons that DIY carpet cleaning is a danger to you and your carpet, and could leave you really frustrated and upset by the whole experience.
Firstly, the machines that can be rented are always a lot smaller in size. I know, you’re now saying that the Dyson you have in your cupboard isn’t huge but it still does a pretty good job, right? However when it comes to a professional carpet machine the size really does matter. Different sized machines have different outputs and can give hugely varying results.
Smaller machines that can be rented or bought from DIY stores are only that size because people need to be able to fit them in the back of a hatchback and make sure they can carry them around, but the bigger the machine the better it can preform. Due to much bigger internal motors and pumps for example, meaning it will have more power, allowing much better results to be had.
As the power, weight and size increase even more the better it will perform in the worst conditions. There will be more suction, more heat and more water pressure leaving carpets much cleaner, brighter and dryer.
There are always going to be adverts and literature telling you that these new machines will be able to clean your carpet in no time and all, and have it looking brand new. I forgive these ads. I mean after all it’s a business and they’re trying to make money, but what they show in pictures and the end result are usually two different things altogether.
If these machines did the same job as bigger, bulkier cleaner costing upwards of a thousand pound, then why don’t all professional companies use them? Simple really. The more expensive, bigger machines give you results! I really wish they did, it would make a lot of peoples lives easier, but they don’t do the same – nowhere near, which is why some companies invest heavily to give the ultimate cleaning experience to their clients.
Due to sales of the DIY carpet cleaner increasing and adverts not really spouting much truth, people don’t know any of the real risks that can associated with the cleaners, both for your general health and for your carpet. Below is a list of all the harmful ways that they can affect you. They include but aren’t limited too: -
Poor results – due to lack of power from the machines. As I already mentioned the size of the machine does matter. The output of power will help get rid of the toughest stain and unfortunately a hand held carpet cleaner you can fit in the back of the car will not get rid of the wine stains that just won't budge.
Damp carpets for days – using DIY carpet cleaners will leave you with a damp carpet most of the time, causing quite awful smells throughout your home. Not exactly what you want when all you were trying to do was impress the in-laws, right?
Mould build up – If the carpets going to be damp for a few days then you can bet there is going to be mould following shortly after. Due to incorrect cleaning attempts, this is not just horrendous for your carpet, but a real health hazard as well. This is something that cannot just ruin your carpet, but if you think financially, could mean trying to sell your home or trying to even have guests over could be a real nightmare!
Delaminated carpets and browning discolouration – Caused by over-wetting and moisture with DIY machines you can start to see the effects through colour changes in your carpet. This can be a permanent damage to your carpet and something you really don’t want.
Shrinkage – as mentioned previously, excessive moisture left by these machines can leave massive damage to your carpet. Shrinkage can pull the carpet away as the moisture is lifted out of it. This could result in bare patches being shown throughout your house. Seems like a waste of money to have an amazing carpet put down and then has parts of the floor underneath showing.
Rapid re-soiling – This is caused by high residue content of detergent left behind by the small machines. Again this is because the output on some machines means that it can’t cope with the detergent put through. This will lead to more moisture and over-wetting again and we have seen what those problems entail.
The list above, as anyone can see is rather expansive. This, I must also add, is not by any means a scare tactic to drive people away from doing their own carpets. There will always be exceptions to this, however, these facts stem from peoples complaints far and wide regarding the DIY carpet cleaners. People have tried to save a few pounds here and there by buying these machines and have ended up with a machine that sits in the cupboard and a ruined carpet. Although this seems like the easy, convenient, cheaper alternative, it really isn’t. You are always better to check with a professional and at least get them to give you a quote, rather than risk your own health and carpet!
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