Steam cleaning, also known as hot water extraction is a popular carpet cleaning method for a number of different reasons. From the carpet cleaners point of view it is usually a quick method compared to others enabling them to clean many homes in a single day. From the consumers view it is a very thorough cleaning method since it has the best flushing capability of any of the cleaning methods on the market today. When a steam cleaner comes to your home they will use either a self contained portable carpet cleaning machine or a truck mounted carpet cleaning machine. The portable extractor will normally have one or two high powered electric vacuums and a pressure pump. It will also have a heater or they might depend on hot water from your home. The benefit to portable extractors is that they can go places that truck mounts can not like high rises. The other type of equipment is a truck mounted system where the vacuum, pump and heater are located in the van and powered by the vans engine or a separate engine system. The advantage of truck mounts is that the cleaner only has two bring two hoses into your home and it is capable of much greater vacuum and heat. With either type of equipment the cleaner will first spray a cleaning solution on your carpet and allow it to dwell to absorb soil. They will then extract it using the cleaning machine. They will then groom the carpet with a carpet rake and let the carpet dry. Dry times are usually in the four to eight hour range.

That is all there is to it. As you can see it is a simple process. When looking for a steam cleaner be cautious to choose one that has a good reputation and a good guarantee. After all the most important thing in a good carpet cleaning is a good operator. Good luck.