Can You Clean A Rug On Hardwood Floors

Carpets tin go a long way in elevating your abode's decor and interiors simply demand constant care. Every bit well as vacuuming your carpeting every few days and spot cleaning it as presently as information technology gets stained, it's also important to give your rug a deep make clean every few months.

One of the all-time forms of deep cleaning is steam cleaning – merely tin can y'all still use this method if you accept hardwood floors under your carpet?

Can you steam clean carpet over hardwood floors? Yes, y'all can technically steam clean carpet over hardwood floors. Nevertheless, y'all must recognize that hardwood floors are vulnerable to getting damaged by h2o, and y'all should take the necessary steps to protect them.

To learn more about how to properly steam make clean a carpeting over hardwood floors, read on.

What Is Steam Cleaning?

If you desire to understand the impact of steam cleaning on hardwood floors, information technology'south helpful to familiarize yourself with the process of steam cleaning.

When steam cleaning, you employ a special steam cleaner that heats water and then converts it into steam. You motion the steam cleaner over your carpet, and it infuses the rug with steam. This breaks downwardly fifty-fifty the smallest particles of dirt.

After this, yous run your machine over the carpeting again and lift both the steam and dirt out. Subsequently steam cleaning, the rug remains moist and damp and can have a few hours to dry.

Many people adopt using steam cleaning to other methods of deep cleaning a carpet. The advantages of steam cleaning are:

• It tin can remove nigh 97% of the dirt and stains in or on your rug. The loftier temperature of the steam breaks down and lifts the dirt more than hands than shampoos or other cleaning chemicals tin.
• It removes dust mites and bacteria. Again, the temperature of the steam tin can kill any subconscious mites and leaner, making your carpet not just cleaner but more hygienic.
• It'southward more environmentally friendly. Because steam cleaning doesn't need whatsoever chemical detergents or additives to work, information technology's amend for the environment. Information technology also makes certain no toxic chemicals are getting immersed in your carpets. You won't even have to worry about the expiry dates for your carpet cleaners!
• It's more convenient. When you hire professional person cleaners or are shampooing your carpet yourself, you volition likely take to take your carpet off the floor or remove all the furniture. With steam cleaning, you lot don't take to worry almost that – although you do need to be mindful about how your floor can go affected when you steam clean the carpet over information technology.

Steam cleaning can also be used safely on ceramic floors; indeed, information technology tin can aid lift dirt and grime that even the strongest chemicals can't.

Even so, steam cleaning can impairment other types of flooring, similar vinyl. In the case of vinyl, steam cleaning breaks down the mucilage that holds together vinyl planks.

Another type of floor sensitive to steam cleaning is hardwood floors, as wood is specially vulnerable to water and heat.

How Tin Steam Cleaning Affect Hardwood Floors?

Hardwood floors are made past laying out planks of wood, each with a unique grapheme and blueprint. They are highly-seasoned for a variety of different reasons: they're long-lasting, they're durable, and they can support the weight of even the heaviest furniture. They can likewise brand a room look more aesthetic.

However, hardwood floors are some of the most expensive types of flooring on the market. For that reason, information technology'due south worth considering the impact that steam cleaning on a carpet over them can take.

Hither are some of the ways steam cleaning tin damage your hardwood flooring:

Steam cleaning tin crusade hardwood floors to rot

Wood tin rot or develop mold when exposed to h2o for a prolonged time. When y'all're steam cleaning, steam may seep through your carpet into your floors and condense into water. Every bit the water cannot evaporate, it volition but sit on the floors, causing them to interruption down and deteriorate speedily.

Rotting floors are non only ugly but tin can also be unsafe, equally they tin can sink beneath heavy weights. When woods is rotting, it can too smell bad and attract pests.

Steam cleaning tin cause cupping

Cupping is when sure parts of the floor become lower than others, causing an uneven floor. This can affect the aesthetics of the room as well as touch the way your article of furniture is placed and supported. Steam cleaning can cause cupping because information technology adds moisture to a room. As a response to the actress humidity, the wood begins to aggrandize, causing the planks to become uneven.

Steam cleaning can cause stains

When h2o seeps into the lower part of hardwood floors, the finish – that is, the top planks – can stain. These stains can be lifted using hardwood flooring cleaners and watermark erasers. However, that'll have a lot of elbow grease – isn't it better to avert getting them altogether?

Your flooring's warranty may become void

When you're installing a hardwood floor, the installer or builder volition typically requite you a warranty of one to two years. The warranty will guarantee replacements if the floor begins to rot or deteriorate.

However, you should check the fine print of this warranty – it may country that if the hardwood floor comes into contact with steam cleaning, then the warranty will become void.

Practise All Steam Cleaners Have the Same Result on Hardwood Floors?

Some steam cleaner manufacturers claim that their steam cleaners are safe to use on hardwood floors, fifty-fifty without the buffer of a carpet betwixt them. However, take these claims with a grain of salt. Several consumer reports have institute that all steam cleaners leave some moisture on hardwood floors.

And don't count on your carpet acting as a buffer between the steam and your hardwood floors. Carpets are notorious for absorbing anything – be it spills or, in this instance, steam. It'southward very likely that while you're steam cleaning, steam volition seep through the carpet and come into contact with your hardwood floors.

How Can You Protect Your Hardwood Floors?

So, how can you cease your hardwood floors from getting impacted when y'all're carpet cleaning?

Start, check whether your hardwood floors are protected with sealant or not. If your hardwood floors take been professionally installed, information technology's likely that after the planks were laid downward, they were coated with a sealant.

Some sealants offering meliorate water protection than others; these include:

• Polyurethane. Polyurethane offers a clear, high gloss or semi-gloss finish on your floors.
• Wax oil. Wax oil is applied to finished hardwood floors and and so dries to form a great barrier between your flooring planks and water.
• Varnish. Varnish combines solvent and oil to create a concoction that, when applied to floors, is a very constructive barrier for all liquids that desire to seep into your floors.
• Boiled linseed oil. If you want to limit the number of chemicals you use to clean and seal your floors, then you tin also use boiled linseed oil as a natural hardwood floor sealant. Linseed oil can protect floors from both water and sun damage.
• Lacquer. Lacquer is some other natural sealant you can utilise as information technology'southward fabricated of tree resin mixed with spirits.

Adding sealants to hardwood floors is typically done when the floors are laid downwardly. Just for it to be near effective in protecting your floors, the sealant needs to be refreshed every few years.

While sealants tin can act as the kickoff layer of protection from moisture, don't rely on them lonely if you're planning to steam clean your carpets.

Steam is lighter and can maneuver better than h2o. It tin can seep through even a tiny hairline crack on the sealant and accumulate in the floorboards over fourth dimension.

Fortunately, there are several things you can exercise to protect your floors if you're steam cleaning your carpets over them.

Step 1: Vacuum your rug beginning

Before outset to steam clean your carpet, it's helpful if you vacuum and spot treat it first. Vacuuming your rug will take care of large pieces of dust and debris that are on the rug. Information technology will besides loosen up the fibers in your carpet, making it easier for steam to penetrate and clean the rug.

Step 2: Curl up your carpeting

Before you begin steam cleaning, scroll your carpet up to the end of the room. If your carpeting is fastened to the flooring, rolling up your carpet may not be as simple as information technology sounds. Utilize pliers and wearable gloves to prise your carpet from the floor in one corner and pull it back. And make sure that y'all're super gentle when doing this – if you're not, it's easy to rip and tear the fibers.

With the carpet off, it's a great time to practise a little maintenance on your hardwood floors earlier first to steam clean. Dust and sweep your floors well, making sure to apply dry cloths as you go.

Once your carpet is safely rolled up, place a sheet of plastic, a tarp, or any other waterproof cloth over your hardwood floor. Record the waterproof canvass to the edges of your wall so that you tin can be sure it won't budge once y'all roll the carpet back.

Footstep 3: Put your rug back in identify

In one case you're certain that you've covered your whole floor with plastic or tarp, coil your carpeting dorsum into place. Effort not to shift the sheet every bit you practice so, or the waterproof layer may be ruptured.

Stride 4: Fill up upwardly your steam cleaner

Well-nigh steam cleaners merely demand water to run. Notwithstanding, if you're mixing your h2o with detergent or cleaning solution, bank check to make sure it's not harmful to hardwood floors.

Several carpeting cleaners can also double upward as floor cleaners – when y'all're buying them, look for a multi-tasker!

It'due south likewise helpful if the cleaning solution y'all're using has a near-neutral pH value. This ensures acidic and alkaline elements are not impacting your carpeting or floors.

Too, brand certain that you lot've read the instructions on the steam cleaning machine well – information technology's a skillful idea to test the machine on a pocket-sized patch of the carpet before going all out.

Step 5: Steam clean your carpet!

Once you've done your due diligence, it's time to take the plunge and begin steam cleaning your carpet!

Exist sure to work in lines, steam cleaning each line twice. And while you're cleaning, be careful to keep your center out for any gaps between the carpet and the floor. Being diligent about this ensures you're not letting your machine come up into direct contact with the floor.

Step half-dozen: Permit your carpet enough of time to dry

Once you're done steam cleaning the whole rug, don't immediately accept out the plastic canvas under it. The carpet volition take at least 4 hours to dry – more if it is large, thick, and dense. To be safe, allow your rug at least 12 hours to dry out.

To assistance it dry out faster and evaporate any steam that is trying to make its fashion towards your floorboards, place a dehumidifier in the room. The dehumidifier volition choice up water particles in the air and quicken the drying process. Yous should as well leave windows open and fans on to let more than airflow into the surface area.

If you lot don't allow your rug time to dry out, wet may settle in information technology and sink downward into the floor. This can cause bug with mold, bacterial growth, and other problems that can ruin both your carpet and your hardwood floor

Step 7: Remove the plastic canvass

When yous're sure that your carpet is completely dry, curl it back and remove the plastic sheet from the hardwood floors. Run a completely dry mop over your floors to option up any water. If you lot desire to be extra cautious, use a moisture meter to cheque if there's water in the forest. If there is water, you lot need to power up your dehumidifier again.

At this point, you lot can too choose to polish your hardwood floors – just be sure your flooring is dry out before commencement to shine it. If it isn't, the polishing process won't work as intended.

Stride eight: Scroll the rug back

When you lot're satisfied that your floors are completely dry, roll your carpet back on over the floors.

Congratulations! You've successfully steam cleaned your rug over hardwood floors!

What Other Rug Cleaning Alternatives Tin can You Consider?

Of course, the best way to 'protect' your hardwood floors from steam cleaning is to avert steam cleaning your carpet over them!

If you don't want to steam clean your carpets, in that location are a few other ways yous can give your carpet the thorough cleaning it needs.

Dry compound cleaning

When yous use the dry compound cleaning method, you spread a foam or powder over the carpet that is designed to absorb dirt.

Subsequently allowing it to sit down for a while, y'all tin merely vacuum up the powder and say hullo to a cleaner fresher carpet. Nonetheless, dry cleaning a carpeting is not considered every bit constructive equally moisture or steam cleaning as there may be some deep-prepare dirt that it can't get to.

Dry encapsulation cleaning

Encapsulation cleaning involves spraying a special chemical onto your carpet and then using a circular automobile powdered castor to elevator both the chemicals and the dirt. There's barely any wet released when using this method – and so your carpets stay dry, your floors stay safety, and yous tin can utilise your carpet immediately afterward cleaning it.

The machines needed for dry encapsulation cleaning are most commonly seen in offices and hotels – this is because they are often too expensive for household apply.

Professional person cleaning

Another selection is to call in a professional carpet cleaner who is used to cleaning carpets over all kinds of surfaces.

Professional cleaners may choose to move your carpeting away from the flooring or will take extra precautions to make sure they're non damaging your hardwood floors.

However, professional cleaning can exist expensive.

If you have the manpower and space, you tin can as well consider taking your carpet off from the floor and steam cleaning it somewhere else. Once it's completely dry out, you can bring it back in to sit on your hardwood floors.

If these alternatives don't sound feasible, and then yous should do what yous can to protect your hardwood floors and get-go steam cleaning your carpets.

Last Thoughts

Armed with the right information (and the right steam cleaner), you can begin steam cleaning your carpet.

Be careful to do everything you can to protect your floors and make certain you're certain that there are no gaps between the carpet and floor while y'all're steam cleaning. Also, allow your carpeting enough of fourth dimension to dry, using a dehumidifier and by leaving windows open and fans on.

If you follow all these steps, it'southward almost completely guaranteed that your hardwood floors volition exist protected. Then become forth with the steam cleaner and make your carpets immaculate!

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