Choosing the Right Carpet Cleaning Chemicals

As flooring goes carpet is relatively inexpensive when compared to hard wood or tile floors. That doesn’t mean that carpeting shouldn’t be taken care of to ensure that it lasts a long time. Fortunately modern carpet is becoming more and more resilient and easy to take care of. Choosing the right carpet cleaning chemicals is also an important part of keeping them looking fresh and new.

There are a variety of chemicals available on the market these days and choosing the correct one will depend on what you need done. Most cleaning agents are divided into one of four categories, depending on what they are used for.

-Cleaning; spot and stain removal
-Odor control
-Sealants that protect the carpet from stains
-Chemicals that are used for special tasks

Let’s take a more detailed look at what each of these cleaning chemicals does.

The most obvious and well known cleaning agents are the cleaning agents. Carpet shampoo, stain and spot removers, upholstery cleaners, dry cleaning solvents, absorbent powder extractors, all make up this class of chemicals. There can even be subclasses of some of these. For instance spot and stain removers may vary depending on their function. The chemical agent for removing pet urine stains is may be different then the agent used for red wine or ground in dirt.

The odor control chemicals do exactly what their name says they do. They use either a chemical formulation or natural enzymes to get rid of unwanted odors emanating from the carpet. These chemicals are highly effective at neutralizing the odors caused by pet urine that has soaked into the carpet and pad. It is important to neutralize the smell because covering the odor with some sort of perfume is a short term fix that doesn’t last very long. And for anyone familiar with the persistent smell of cat urine destroying the cause is key.

Once the carpets are cleaned and the odors are neutralized it’s time to protect it with a sealant. These come in two varieties; either a dry application or a spray on wet application. They both work equally well and will give any carpet a layer of extra protection dirt, grime, spills, and stains.

The last type of carpet cleaning chemical on the list are the specialty agents. The most common are the anti-foam chemicals. They help control the production of foam in both professional extraction setting and in the rental machines homeowners can get at the local store. Foam can create quite the mess if it is left uncontrolled.

There is a lot to choose from when it comes to carpet cleaning chemicals. But once you understand the specific task of each one picking the one most applicable for your cleaning situation becomes much easier.