subject: 5 Features To Look For When Buying Steam Cleaners For Carpets [print this page] Your wants seem simple when you decide to buy a steam cleaner for your carpets. You want clean carpets. But with all the different features promising a great clean, how do you know which steam cleaner for carpets is the one you really want to buy?
You have to consider the features and the quality of the steam cleaners you're looking at. This will help you narrow things down to where you can find the one that best suits your preferences.
1. Cost
The cost of the steam cleaner for carpets matters a lot. You probably have a price range in mind. $200-300 is a reasonable price range, although you can go higher or lower depending on your budget. Just what is reasonable for you to spend is entirely up to your discretion.
2. Scrub Brush Style
Different companies use different styles and number of carpet scrubbing brushes. Some use one or two beater brush style brushes, just like your regular vacuum. Others use one or two rows of brushes that spin face down on the carpet. Either way, the manufacturer will tell you that their brushes are very effective at cleaning your carpet.
My own favorite is the face down scrubbing style. It's what I've used when steam vacuuming around my own home.
3. Pulling Water Out of the Carpet
As important as the ability to scrub stains out of your carpet is how well the steam cleaner for carpets takes that water back out again. Too much water left in the carpet is bad for it, not to mention any dirt remaining with that water. Your carpets are at their cleanest if the water is pulled effectively back out.
This is where you check reviews. They'll tell you if people felt their carpets were unusually damp after a steam cleaning. Some dampness is normal, as no steam cleaner gets it all out.
Know that it will also be up to you. You keep working the vacuum part of the steam cleaner until you can't see it pulling up more water. Slow and steady pushes and pulls are more effective than faster motions.
4. Detergent Controls
Many models now keep the detergent separate from the water so that you can control how much you're using as you work. You don't want to use more than necessary, as leftover detergent attracts more dirt to your carpet.
That said, when you're fighting stains, you may want the ability to crank up the detergent level. It's not absolutely necessary to have these controls, as your other option is to mix up some of the same detergent with water in a squirt bottle, and pretreat stains with that before running the steam cleaner over them.
5. Cord Length
You want a long cord when you're steam cleaning your carpets. You may only choose to do one room at a time, or two, but you don't want to have to move the plug because you can't reach certain areas due to cord length. It's a minor inconvenience that can add up surprisingly quickly.
