Level up your cleaning with a carpet cleaner

With a carpet cleaner, you will never be anxious again about your carpet’s spills and stains. A good quality carpet cleaner will leave your carpet looking as good as new. Although carpet cleaners are usually confused with vacuum cleaners, the two appliances differ in functionality. A vacuum cleaner only cleans the top part of the carpet, while a carpet cleaner uses water and a cleaning solution to scrub and remove dirt and stains from deep within the carpet fibres.

How to choose a carpet cleaner

There are many different types of carpet cleaners on the market which sometimes makes it challenging for one to pick. Carpet cleaners are made from different materials by different brands and vary in size and cost.

Size

Carpet cleaners are heavy when empty and will be even heavier after you fill up the tank. A full tank of cleaning solution adds considerable weight, so choose one you will be able to use efficiently even with the added weight.

 Consider getting a lightweight and easy-to-maneuver carpet cleaner that achieves professional results such as the Hoover PowerDash Pet FH50700, which is one of the lightest models on the market.

Features

According to consumerreports.org, you should check the settings, accessories, and cord and hose lengths. Some carpet cleaners have only a single tank with one chamber for the fresh solution and another for the spent mixture.

But we found that it is more convenient to have two separate tanks, one for water and the other for the cleaning solution. Some have dispensers that automatically add the cleaning agent to the water, saving you the hassle of having to measure out a full tank each time.

Settings to consider: Some manufacturers claim that their models clean hard floors, like wood and tile, as well as carpets. There are also carpet cleaners that have dry-only settings so that you can suck up more water after your initial cleaning, which may speed up drying time. As for accessories, although an independently rotating brush does not guarantee a good cleaning, it tends to scrub more aggressively than a fixed brush (or no brush at all). And some models offer a variety of tools for special applications, including upholstery, small stains, pet stains, stairs, and corners and crevices.

A longer cord and a hose can save you some repositioning effort. The models currently in our ratings typically have cords that are 20 to 22 feet, but a few run as long as 25 feet. A hose is especially useful for cleaning stairs, upholstery, and other tough-to-reach areas.

Noise

Most carpet cleaners are loud and are estimated to produce an average noise level was 80 dBA. At this decibel level, prolonged use of the machines can cause damage to your ears.

While shopping, look out for those that make as little noise as possible.  So grab noise-canceling headphones or earplugs that guarantee protection for up to 85 dBA.

Versatility

Why only wash your carpets when you can also clean your hard floors?  When buying carpet cleaners get one that has multipurpose features such as an additional tool that can clean your hard floors too. For instance, the BISSELL Plus 52W18 is a lightweight and versatile carpet cleaner that comes with an extension hose so you can clean up spots and stains on your carpets, stairs and upholstery.

Cost

Carpet cleaners are priced according to size, features, and brand. A domestic-sized carpet cleaner ranges from Shs380,000 to Shs3.8m, while a commercial machine is more powerful and has a larger capacity and costs between Shs1.9m and above. These machines are designed to cover large areas of carpet in the shortest possible time.

Cleaning solution

The type of cleaning solution used by the machine will impact your carpet’s durability. Although many carpet cleaner manufacturers recommend that you use their cleaning solution with their machines, sustainability should be considered. The ideal cleaning solution should be allergen-free, environmental-friendly and affordable.  Although the ideal solutions should have antibacterial cleaning formulas that kills odour causing bacteria, some of these chemicals can be too harsh for households that have children and pets.