It's true. Carpet cleaning is becoming increasing popular these days, especially if you have children. Your carpets can get dirty…how shall I put this…fast! The great news is that not only is there an amazing selection of high quality carpet cleaners available at your local drugstore or department store that you can rent (or even buy yourself), but you can actually hire someone to come out and do it for you also. I know, that's awesome!

But why wait until your carpets are completely filthy to get them cleaned. If you just carpet clean regularly, you will ALWAYS have a clean, inviting looking atmosphere that makes you smile whenever you come home. By the way, there are actually 2 main ways to clean a carpet these days: Dry or Steam carpet cleaning. You probably want to learn a little more about each, right?

So what is "Steam" carpet cleaning anyway. Glad you asked. Steam cleaning is kind of like it sounds. You basically use steam to loosen and remove any dirt from your carpets. There are so many types of steam cleaners out on the market, but the general concept is the same for all of them. A steam cleaner doesn't use any type of chemicals, but ONLY the amazing power of steam to clean. If you are looking to be chemical free in your home, this is surely the way to go.

It is most ideal to use on hard surfaces that can be blasted away with steam. As the highly pressurized steam flies by, dirt and junk are easily loosened and removed! But you should be aware since steam was once in fact water, a portion of the steam may turn again to water. Therefore you should always keep a towel nearby to wipe any excess moisture you may encounter. Some steam cleaners even have a dryer option on the machine to help dry out your carpets much faster than just leaving them to dry on their own.

"Dry" carpet cleaning is very different from steam cleaning. When you do a dry carpet cleaning, you don't use liquid at all. Instead, you would use a powder (made up of a special carpet cleaning chemical), that would be sprinkled onto the floor and left for a little while. It would then be vacuumed out of the carpeting, leaving you will a clean, fabulously smelling carpet. But I bet you had no clue there were some important differences between a dry and steam carpet cleaning treatment for your home. Well, there are. I will share the 2 main differences below.

Difference #1: Dry Cleaning Uses POWDER; Steam Uses LIQUID One of the biggest differences between these 2 most popular techniques is the use of the solutions they use to clean. Dry carpet cleaning uses a powder that is sprinkled onto your carpet, and afterwards this would be vacuumed up. But steam carpet cleaning uses…you guess it…steam to tackle the dirt and grime that may be in it's war path.

The main benefit of using a dry carpet cleaning method is there is a lot less moisture, and dampness, which makes the drying time much quicker. The drying time is longer in the steam method because they steam has moisture to it.

Difference #2: Dry Time Is LESS for Dry Method…LONGER for Steam Method As mentioned above, probably the most important difference between the 2 methods is the length of time it will take to dry your carpets using the "steam" method over the dry method. The reason why the dry method is very popular with many folks is because they keep your carpet as damp-free as possible, making the dry time MUCH quicker than with steam carpet cleaning. This can come in real handy if you have a very active household.

It doesn't necessarily do a better job in any way, but it uses difference equipment, and a technique that is much quicker to dry when completed.

So as you have seen above, both dry and steam cleaning will in fact clean your carpets (and clean them well), but they will just do it in a slightly different way. Look into what may be the best way for your family to carpet clean using either of these amazing techniques.