Are you ready to have your carpets professionally cleaned, but not sure which method you want in your home? If so, it helps to know the differences between these four methods of carpet cleaning.

Dry Compound 

A dry compound cleaning method is very simple and straightforward. As the name implies, it involves sprinkling a dry cleaning material on the carpet and letting it work its way into the carpet fibers for several minutes. You then vacuum that dry compound out of the carpeting, and you should see instant results. This method will typically only clean the top third of the carpet fiber, which works great for maintenance cleanings that happen more frequently. It is not going to get deep into the carpet fibers or padding to remove things like pet urine or spills. 

Encapsulation 

The encapsulation method is also known as a foam cleaning, which involves scrubbing a cleaning material into the carpet fibers, letting it dry, and vacuuming the surface. This process will cover the soil in the carpet fibers with a liquid polymer and attach itself to the soil, and when you vacuum the surface, it removes the liquid polymer and the soil together. It will get further down into the carpet fibers than a dry compound would, and it will help get rid of the dirt and oils that a dry compound won't remove.

Bonnet 

Bonnet cleaning involves a special scrubbing machine with a cotton or synthetic blend of materials on it. You put a cleaning product on a tank in your bonnet cleaning machine, which attracts the soil to the pad. It performs a soil transfer cleaning process, which is similar to trying to clean a stain with a towel and seeing the stain transfer to the towel. This cleaning method requires that you frequently change out the pads, or it will not be effective. 

Hot Water Extraction

Hot water extraction involves spraying down a cleaning product that is agitated into the carpet fibers, and then the cleaning product is rinsed out using a stream of high-pressure water. This allows the cleaning process to get deep into the carpet fibers but not get through the backing of the carpeting and reach the padding underneath. The residential carpet cleaning company may also use speed dryers to ensure that the carpeting feels dry to the touch when they leave your home.

Of all the carpet cleaning options listed, hot water extraction is the only one that can actually restore your carpeting to a better state. Everything else is considered maintenance cleaning that will not do as good of a job.