Shampoo vs. steam clean: What is the best way to clean carpets?

Spring cleaning a house is a colossal task and, despite good intentions, is one that not all of us manage to successfully execute every year. Whether you manage to dedicate enough time to tick off all your entire spring-cleaning checklist or just a few essential tasks, it's crucial to prioritise the main areas of your home to make the largest impact in the shortest amount of time. This is a huge motivator to help you stay focused and prevent overwhelm with the smaller details.

What’s the most important place to clean but is often neglected? The carpets. Carpets are an integral part of your home and make a significant contribution to both your living environment's appearance and your overall health. However, over time, they accumulate dirt, stains and allergens regular vacuuming alone can’t eliminate. Periodic deep cleaning is essential to maintain the hygiene and longevity of your carpets. Once you recognise your carpets need a deep clean, the question is now, which is the best method to clean carpets?

Steam cleaning carpets vs. shampooing

Not deep cleaning your carpets is one of the most common carpet care mistakes homeowners make, the next is choosing the wrong method to clean them. So, let's delve into the age-old debate: shampooing vs. steam cleaning carpets:

Effort involved

Deep cleaning a carpet is neither a quick nor easy task, it’s labour intensive. Steam cleaning takes the lead for ease and simplicity. Water and steam penetrate the carpet fibres loosening dirt and stains. The vacuum is then used to extract the debris and excess moisture.

Shampooing has an additional step. The shampoo solution agitates and lifts the dirt to the surface before you have to scrub it away, rinse the carpet with hot water before waiting for the carpets to dry. This extended process makes steam cleaning the more practical and timely choice, especially if you hire professional residential carpet cleaning services, Christchurch Carpet Cleaning do all the graft for you.

Drying time

Shampooing saturates the carpet with moisture, which means it can take up to 72 hours to fully dry (depending on air circulation, humidity and temperature). This extended downtime is inconvenient, especially for busy households.

In contrast, steam cleaning uses less water, allowing your carpets to dry completely between 3-5 hours. This quick turnaround time is ideal for busy people who need access to the carpeted areas quickly.

Results of carpet cleaning

Shampooing has the potential to deliver excellent cleaning results, but there are several factors that can influence how successful the carpet clean is. Here are 7 tips to get the best from shampoo carpet cleaning:

1.    Always read and follow the carpet shampoo instructions.

2.    Carpet materials react to cleaning solutions in different ways, know what your carpet is made from and dilute carpet cleaning chemicals appropriately.

3.    Different stains require specific carpet cleaning treatments, know what you are treating.

4.    Check the water temperature, too high you risk carpet shrinkage.

5.    Don’t soak the carpet – carpet browning, wicking and flood damaged carpets cost more to restore.

6.    Be mindful of how you scrub the carpets clean, you risk compromising the fibre strength of the carpet.

7.    Clean the carpets evenly to avoid patches.

Not only does steam have the carpet cleaning edge, but professional carpet cleaning also means you don’t have to worry about any of the above issues. Highly experienced and trained using the latest state-of-the-art hot water extraction technology, Christchurch Carpet Cleaning delivers sublime results – expert at removing carpet stains but also eliminating odours, bacteria and germs lurking in your carpets.



In the debate of steam cleaning vs. shampooing, steam cleaning emerges as the superior choice for carpet cleaning in Christchurch, NZ. For hassle-free and effective carpet cleaning, contact Christchurch Carpet Cleaning to discuss your needs. Our experienced team utilises the power of steam cleaning to rejuvenate carpets, upholstery, and rugs. We also offer affordable rates and commercial carpet cleaning for businesses in the area.