If you have hardwood floors under your carpet or area rugs, you may have wondered whether professional “steam cleaning” could damage the flooring underneath.
You may also wonder whether the same type of cleaning can damage upholstered furniture.
The answer isn’t simply yes or no.
After more than 56 years of cleaning carpets, area rugs and upholstery, I’ve learned that the equipment being used, the amount of water, the pressure, the temperature, the material being cleaned, and what is underneath it can all make a difference.
And there’s an important point to understand right from the beginning:
What People Call “Steam Cleaning” Isn’t Really Steam Cleaning
When most people say they are having their carpet or upholstery “steam cleaned,” they’re generally referring to hot-water extraction.
The actual cleaning isn’t being accomplished by steam.
It’s a combination of cleaning agents, heat, water, pressure, agitation when appropriate, and the extraction of the soil and moisture from the carpet or upholstery.
There are also several very different types of equipment used for hot-water extraction.
The two most common are truck-mounted systems and portable systems.
And they can operate very differently.
Truck-Mounted Carpet Cleaning Equipment
A truck-mounted system has the major equipment installed in a van or truck. The cleaning solution travels through a long hose from the truck into the home.
Many truck-mounted systems use plain water in their solution tank, while some operators may use an acidic rinse or another solution depending on their cleaning method.
Typically, a prespray or traffic-lane cleaner is applied to the carpet before extraction.
There is something about this process that homeowners may never think about.
The prespray is often applied primarily to the exposed areas of the carpet. Furniture isn’t necessarily moved during the cleaning.
That means an area of carpet that was once part of a traffic lane may eventually be underneath a sofa or chair.
If the furniture is later moved, that section of carpet may suddenly become visible, even though it may not have received the same prespray treatment as the exposed carpet.
If furniture is moved during cleaning, the technician then has to decide how that newly exposed area should be treated.
Simply extracting the carpet doesn’t necessarily mean that the same cleaning agents were applied to it.
What Happens to the Heat?
Truck-mounted equipment can generate very hot water at the machine.
You may hear temperatures of around 200 degrees or even higher mentioned when people describe the capabilities of a truck mount.
But there is an important difference between the temperature at the truck and the temperature of the solution when it actually reaches the carpet.
That solution may have to travel through 100, 150 or even 200 feet of hose before reaching the cleaning tool.
Think about what happens in Massachusetts in the winter.
If 50 feet of that hose is lying outside and the temperature is 20 degrees, the cleaning solution can lose a considerable amount of heat before it reaches the carpet.
Now compare that with the same situation in July, when the outside temperature might be 85 degrees.
The temperature at the carpet can therefore vary considerably depending on the equipment, hose length, water flow, outdoor temperature and other conditions.
So when someone tells you that a truck mount heats the water to 220 degrees, that doesn’t mean the carpet is necessarily being cleaned with 220-degree water.
Pressure Is Another Important Difference
This is one of the areas where I have concerns about truck-mounted systems when they’re used on certain residential carpets and area rugs.
A typical truck mount can operate at substantially higher pressure than a portable machine.
That additional pressure can absolutely be an advantage in certain circumstances.
If you’re cleaning heavily soiled commercial carpet, particularly in a restaurant where there may be oily soil and heavy traffic, the additional heat, pressure and water flow of a truck mount can be very useful.
But more isn’t necessarily better.
When you’re cleaning a fine residential carpet or an area rug sitting over an expensive hardwood floor, I don’t necessarily want to introduce large amounts of water at very high pressure.
High pressure can drive moisture more deeply into the carpet construction.
And once moisture gets into the backing, padding or material underneath the carpet, you’ve introduced another potential problem.
What Is Underneath the Carpet?
This is something I believe every carpet cleaner should consider before starting the job.
Is there padding?
What type of padding?
Is the carpet installed over hardwood?
Is there an area rug sitting on a wood floor?
What type of rug pad is underneath it?
These things matter.
For example, some area rugs are placed over solid rubber pads. A solid rubber pad can provide considerably more protection against moisture reaching the floor than a waffle-style pad, which contains openings that allow moisture to pass through.
That’s one reason I don’t believe you can look at a carpet or area rug by itself.
You have to consider the entire system.
Why I Prefer Portable Equipment for Much of My Residential Work
I have both the experience and the knowledge to understand what truck-mounted equipment can do.
But after more than 56 years in this business, I’ve made a deliberate decision about the equipment I prefer for the type of residential work I perform.
For much of our residential carpet and area-rug cleaning, I prefer a portable extraction system.
A portable machine uses the customer’s water supply, which is commonly around 125 degrees, depending on the home’s water system and other conditions.
The solution then travels through a much shorter hose—often around 15 to 25 feet.
By the time it reaches the cleaning tool, the temperature may be somewhat lower.
Some portable machines also have their own heating systems.
Many cleaning solutions are formulated to perform very effectively within a particular temperature range, so extremely high temperatures aren’t necessarily required to achieve good cleaning.
The pressure is also substantially lower than what you may encounter with a truck mount.
That gives me a level of control that I prefer when I’m working in higher-end homes with fine carpets, area rugs and expensive flooring underneath them.
In more than 56 years of cleaning, I have never had a problem with over-wetting an area rug or wall-to-wall carpet with the portable system I use.
That doesn’t mean over-wetting is impossible.
It means that I believe controlled application and extraction are critical, and I choose equipment that gives me the degree of control I want for the work we perform.
Does That Mean I Think Truck Mounts Are Bad?
No.
I don’t want anyone reading this to think I’m saying that every truck-mounted carpet cleaner is doing something wrong.
That’s simply not true.
A good operator can use a truck mount intelligently, adjust the cleaning process to the carpet, and understand how much moisture and pressure a particular situation can tolerate.
And there are situations where I believe the capabilities of a truck mount can be extremely useful.
Heavy commercial carpet, restaurants, extremely soiled areas and other difficult cleaning situations can benefit from higher water flow, pressure and heat.
My concern is more specific.
I don’t believe that the most powerful equipment is automatically the most appropriate equipment for every residential carpet or area rug.
After 56 years, I’ve learned that cleaning isn’t about using the biggest machine or the most pressure possible.
It’s about knowing what you’re cleaning and knowing what is underneath it.
What About the Water Claw?
There is another piece of equipment that I feel particularly strongly about when dealing with severe pet-urine contamination.
Some carpet cleaners use a tool commonly known as a Water Claw or flood-extraction tool.
The idea is to place the tool over a relatively small contaminated area and deliberately introduce a substantial amount of water into the carpet while simultaneously extracting it.
The purpose is to flush deeply embedded pet urine and other contamination out of the carpet and backing.
I understand why a cleaner might use this technique.
When urine has penetrated deeply into the carpet construction, simply cleaning the surface isn’t necessarily going to remove everything. I discuss the challenges of deeply embedded pet contamination in my Ask Alec article, Can You Really Get Rid of Pet Odors Permanently, or Do They Just Come Back?.
But there is a tradeoff.
Flooding a section of carpet deliberately means that you’re intentionally putting a large amount of moisture into the carpet and backing.
That can increase the possibility of moisture reaching whatever is underneath the carpet.
And that is a risk I personally choose not to take.
I don’t use a Water Claw, and I would never allow one to be used in my own home.
That’s my professional decision based on more than 56 years of experience.
It doesn’t mean that the tool can never be useful in any circumstance. It means that I don’t believe deliberately flooding a carpet is an appropriate cleaning method for the type of residential work I choose to perform.
Can Carpet Cleaning Damage Hardwood Floors?
Now we come back to the original question.
Can carpet cleaning damage hardwood floors?
It can if moisture is allowed to reach the flooring and isn’t properly controlled.
That doesn’t mean professional carpet cleaning automatically damages hardwood floors.
The important questions are:
- How much moisture is being introduced?
- At what pressure?
- How quickly is it being extracted?
- What is underneath the carpet?
- Is there padding?
- What type of padding?
- Is the carpet an area rug?
- What type of rug pad is underneath it?
- Is there exposed flooring around the rug?
- How experienced is the person operating the equipment?
Those questions are much more important than simply asking whether the cleaner uses “steam.”
What About Overspray on Hardwood or Tile?
There is another way flooring can be exposed to moisture during carpet or area-rug cleaning.
Sometimes a small amount of overspray can land on an adjoining hardwood or tile floor.
This is why I have always instructed my technicians to be careful around the customer’s home.
I also tell my technicians to keep a clean white cotton cloth in their pocket.
Why?
Because if a little moisture or overspray gets somewhere it shouldn’t, they can wipe it up immediately.
It’s a small thing, but I believe those small things matter.
If you’re cleaning someone’s home, you should treat the home responsibly.
With hardwood flooring, I don’t want moisture sitting on the surface any longer than necessary.
The type of finish matters too. Some finishes will resist moisture better than others, but I don’t believe that’s an excuse to leave water sitting on the floor.
If you get moisture on the floor, wipe it up.
It’s simple.
What About Tile and Stone?
Tile isn’t necessarily the same as hardwood.
A finished ceramic tile surface can generally tolerate incidental moisture very well.
Natural stone can be different.
Marble, limestone and other natural stones can have different characteristics and may be more susceptible to staining or other problems depending on the stone, finish and condition.
Again, my approach is simple:
Don’t leave moisture sitting where it doesn’t belong.
Wipe it up.
It’s easier to prevent a problem than to explain afterward why you didn’t.
What About Upholstered Furniture?
Furniture is a completely different subject, but the same basic principle applies.
What consumers call “steam cleaning” of upholstery is generally a controlled cleaning and extraction process—not simply blasting furniture with steam.
And upholstery can be much more complicated than carpet.
A sofa or chair may contain:
- Different types of fabric
- Different fibers
- Dyes
- Backing materials
- Foam
- Padding
- Wood components
- Adhesives
- Different types of construction
Two sofas that look almost identical on the outside may require completely different cleaning approaches.
That’s one reason I always recommend evaluating the furniture and fabric before deciding how it should be cleaned.
I’ve written more about this on my professional upholstery cleaning page and in my Ask Alec article Every Upholstery Problem Has a Story.
The amount of moisture used and how that moisture is removed can be extremely important.
After 56 Years, Here’s How I Look at It
After more than 56 years of cleaning carpets, area rugs and upholstered furniture, I’ve learned that good cleaning isn’t about using the hottest water, the highest pressure or the most aggressive cleaning method possible.
It’s about knowing when those things are appropriate—and when they aren’t.
A truck mount has capabilities that a portable machine doesn’t.
A portable machine has advantages that I value for the residential work I do.
A Water Claw can be useful for certain severe contamination problems, but it deliberately introduces a large amount of moisture into the carpet.
And no matter what equipment is being used, the person operating it matters.
When you’re cleaning a carpet or area rug over hardwood flooring, you’re not just cleaning the carpet.
You’re working in someone’s home.
You’re working around their furniture, their floors and their belongings.
That’s why I believe experience still matters.
Sometimes the most important part of professional cleaning isn’t knowing what you can do.
It’s knowing what you shouldn’t do.
Have a Question for Ask Alec?
If you have a question about carpet cleaning, upholstery, area rugs, pet stains or another cleaning problem, send it to me.
After more than 56 years in this business, I’ve learned that sometimes the best advice isn’t about selling someone a cleaning.
It’s about helping them understand what they’re dealing with and making an informed decision.
“Want to make sure your carpets and fine rugs are cleaned safely without risking your hardwood floors? Learn more about our Professional Carpet Cleaning Services or call Alec directly at 781-871-1415.”
Alec Houle
Alec’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning LLC