Carpet Cleaning: Steam vs. Shampooing

Should You Shampoo or Steam Clean Your Carpets?

Maintaining clean carpets keeps your home looking and smelling fresh. Regular carpet cleaning—whether by shampooing or steam cleaning—also helps extend the life of your flooring. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each method.

Shampooing

Shampooing involves a carpet cleaning machine with a solution tank and a spinning nylon brush. The machine distributes cleaning solution into the carpet to create foam, which is scrubbed in a circular motion. Vacuuming is required both before and after cleaning.

Advantages

  • Effective for heavily soiled carpets.
  • Ideal for small rooms and area rugs.
  • Helps lift embedded dust and dirt from carpet fibers.
  • Shampoo machines are widely available for rent.

Disadvantages

  • Scrubbing motion can damage delicate carpet fibers.
  • May leave soap residue that attracts dirt.
  • Requires drying time, which may take longer in cold or wet weather.

Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaning a carpet

Steam cleaning uses a high-powered vacuum and pump system, often attached to a truck or a portable unit. A cleaning wand sprays hot water and cleaning solution into the carpet while a vacuum hose extracts the dirt and moisture.

Advantages

  • Great for deep cleaning wall-to-wall carpeting.
  • The wand can reach around furniture and edges easily.
  • Extracts dirt lodged deep within the carpet fibers.

Disadvantages

  • More complicated than shampooing.
  • Requires both cleaning and rinsing solutions.
  • May leave some cleaning solution behind, leading to quicker resoiling.
  • Truck-mounted systems are usually not available for DIY rental.

Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of both methods helps you make the right choice for your home and your carpeting needs.

Julie Bawden-Davis

Julie Bawden-Davis is a bestselling journalist, novelist, blogger, and YouTuber. A prolific author, Julie writes in several genres. She enjoys creating page-turning suspense served up with a dose of romance, garden books that turn any brown thumb green, and spiritual books meant to enlighten and inspire. Widely published, Julie has written 45 books and more than 4,000 articles for a wide variety of national and international publications. She lives in Southern California, where she enjoys sunny, blue skies most days and year-round gardening. Julie gains inspiration from being surrounded by plants when she writes.