Compare Products
Search
How does carpet cleaning work?
We all know that vacuuming our carpets is a good way to remove dust and dirt. But have you ever thought about what’s beneath the surface? Deep down dirt and ground-in dirt isn’t just the dirt from your shoes or the dirt that you see when you vacuum. What you don’t see are the invisible particles like skin cells, pollen and food particles that are left behind by vacuuming. Cleaning your carpets might seem like a daunting prospect. The good news is, carpet cleaners may look complicated but they work in a very simple way. There are essentially 3 parts to carpet cleaning – Spray, Scrub, and Suction. We’ll explain how each of these steps works, to take the uncertainty out of carpet cleaning!
Spray
Carpet cleaners start by getting your carpet wet. A mixture of water and carpet cleaning formula is injected deep into the fibres, which softens and loosen the dirt. There are arrange of carpet cleaning formulas you can choose from – some have added fragrance, some have added stain removing properties, and some are specially designed for cleaning up after pets.
See all BISSELL Cleaning Formulas
Scrub
The next step is to scrub the carpet. In an upright carpet cleaner, rotating brushes agitate the carpet fibres, loosening dirt and lifting it towards the surface of the carpet. This also helps to "fluff up" the carpet, making it feel as soft and comfortable as it was on day one!
A Spot Cleaner works in a similar way, but without the rotating brushes. With a Spot Cleaner, you have to scrub manually using the bristles on the handheld tool. This is just as good if you are cleaning a small area, but if you are cleaning a whole room an upright carpet cleaner saves you a lot of effort!
Suction
The final part to carpet cleaning is the suction – BISSELL Carpet Cleaners all use powerful vacuum suction to lift away all the dirty water, leaving your carpet clean and fresh. As the water is removed from your carpet, it takes all the dirt with it. You can see the evidence in the dirty water tank!
The powerful suction in BISSELL Carpet Cleaners also helps your carpets to dry quickly. Some models, like the HydroWave or the ProHeat 2X Revolution, can even leave your carpets dry in 30 minutes!
Do carpet cleaners heat up the water?
Hot water loosens and softens dirt more quickly, making it easier to remove, and it also helps to kill bacteria. That's why we recommend filling up your carpet cleaner's tank with warm water.
Some BISSELL Carpet Cleaners also use HeatWave technology to keep the water hot throughout the cleaning process. HeatWave Technology means that the heat that is generated by the motor gets redirected to underneath the water tank. This means that the temperature is maintained as long as the machine is being used, so you get a better cleanig result from start to finish.
What is the difference between a carpet cleaner and a steam cleaner?
You might have heard of carpet cleaners being referred to as “steam cleaners” or "carpet steamers". While steam cleaners do exist, these should be used for hard surfaces only. A steam cleaner uses actual steam to clean various types of surfaces, and this steam can damage carpet fibres and remove the protection. A carpet deep cleaner is designed to force a mixture of warm water and cleaning solution into the carpet to clean deep down. The solution and dirt are then extracted from the carpet, leaving the fibres and carpet base clean. So unlike actual steam cleaners, carpet deep cleaners do not use steam.