Green Carpet Cleaning Methods

There are a number of green carpet cleaning companies now. They use cleaning solvents that are environmentally-friendly. But there are also ways you can be more "green" on your own when it comes to carpet care. We'll look at those first, and then address how to find a green cleaner and what you can ask a regular carpet cleaning company to do.

To start with, you can have your carpet cleaned less often. This is one of the simplest and perhaps most obvious ways to reduce the impact the use of rugs and carpeting has on the environment. Of course your goal is not to tolerate dirty carpet, but to keep it clean for a longer time between cleanings.

To accomplish that you can vacuum more often, and be sure that you have a vacuum cleaner that has good suction. Frequent vacuuming not only prevents dirt and other substances from getting ground into the fibers (meaning only deeper cleaning will remove them), but it also prolongs the life of your carpet.

Rugs by all home entrances also help, by trapping much of the dirt which would otherwise be dragged onto the carpeting. Even better is a policy of removing shoes.

These things can help stretch out the time between them, but you'll still need those occasional cleanings. So let's look at some green carpet cleaning methods.

There are a number of companies which use cleaning agents which are supposed to be less damaging to the environment. For example, one has this on their website, "...we pre-treat all areas with a all natural citrus based cleaner that breaks up the soils." Now, since so many different cleaning solvents are being used, you might want to do some research online to see if they are truly "green."

If you try using a portable cleaning unit on your own, be aware that they will never clean as deeply as professional "steam cleaning" (hot water extraction) with a truck mount unit (the machine stays in the van and the hoses are brought into your home) But you will be able to choose green cleaning solvents to use, or even clean with just warm water if the carpet is not that dirty. Be aware though, that you may be recirculating chemicals from other people's carpets. You can avoid this by thoroughly rinsing out the machine with warm water before using it.

Another option is to hire a professional carpet cleaning company and ask that they use only hot water. They will be glad to save the cost of the cleaning solvents. I can tell you from experience that the high-pressure hot water and powerful suction of a truck-mount steam cleaning system is more than enough for lightly-soiled carpet.

Those are the most common and affordable green carpet cleaning methods. Another option is to replace carpeting with hardwood floors, and use rugs which are small enough to wash by hand or in your washing machine.