Can You Use A Carpet Cleaner as a Vacuum?

Carpet cleaner and vacuum cleaner, two different tools, but its purpose is almost the same. Both of them are used mostly for carpet cleaning. However, you have to know the difference between them to operate correctly to keep your carpet clean.

Maintaining a clean carpet is not an easy task, especially if you have a toddler or senior citizen living in the house. Sometimes, you may slip coffee or juice on your floor that eventually makes stains on the carpet.

You may have a vacuum cleaner at home and vacuumed the stains, but strains are still there. So, what should you do now? At this point, you may also think of using a carpet cleaner. We look for answers throughout this article.

A lot of people get confused using vacuum and carpet cleaner. Usually, they ask, can you use a carpet cleaner as a vacuum? We explain this too. Let’s start the journey to find the answers.

What is a Carpet Cleaner?

A carpet cleaner also referred to as carpet shampooer, is a carpet cleaning appliance only for home use. At the same time, there are some cleaners for commercial uses. Shampooer usually cleans through the rotating brush.

On the other hand, hot steamers are the most modern carpet cleaners. It uses hot water or steam and a unique cleaning solution on the carpet. There are some dry carpet cleaners also available, but those are expensive. They are mostly used for commercial purposes.

What is a Vacuum Cleaner?

A vacuum cleaner uses suction to remove dirt, hair, debris, and any other loose particles from a carpet’s surface. Unlike carpet cleaners, it does not use water or a liquid solution. It works on dry carpet.

The traditional vacuum works through the electric connection. In contrast, some of the modern vacuum cleaners come as handheld, which has a rechargeable battery. Those handheld cleaners can be used anywhere. Even their shape allows working on the corner of a sofa.

Purpose

While both of them are used for cleaning purposes, their outcome is different. According to the result, we can categorize them as surface cleaning and deep cleaning. Let’s jump into the details about these two cleaning types.

Surface cleaning

If you have dirt or some small particles or even hair on the carpet, then you may want to use a vacuum. However, you can vacuum the carpet’s surface regularly or whenever needed. There are many types, and powered vacuum cleaners are available. For the carpet cleaning purpose, a robust with more power is required, and it needs a great suction to take out every element on the surface.

Deep cleaning

As we have mentioned, vacuum only does surface cleaning. So, what do you need for deep cleaning?

The answer is a carpet cleaner. Water and carpet cleaning solutions can do the deep cleaning of the carpets as well as rugs. The carpet cleaner is made to work with a heavy load that can remove dirt, grime, and allergens from the base of the carpet without tempering the materials.

At the beginning of this article, we have talked stains on the carpet, and here comes deep cleaning to make your carpet stain free.

Now, you know the main difference according to the purpose. However, for the best cleaning experience, you have to use both. But how to use them both for cleaning? Well, we have explained the cleaning process below.

Cleaning process

Using both vacuum and carpet cleaner can get you the best result. For that, you have to vacuum your carpet first. Make sure you vacuumed all over the places. You can empty the room and remove all the movable items to another room. That’s how you can do the deep clean.

After you are done with the vacuum, you then go for the deep cleaning process. You can use any carpet cleaner. However, a shampooer or steam cleaned would be great. You can buy the cleaner or rent it from your local hardware.

Some people don’t vacuum before deep clean, which ultimately leaves the carpets’ dirt as carpet cleaner doesn’t have the suction capability. Some of them also think carpet cleaner is a vacuum cleaner itself. As a result, the confusion arises, which we have mentioned in the beginning.

Can you use a carpet cleaner as a vacuum cleaner?

The answer is NO! As we have mentioned earlier, the carpet cleaner does not have a suction mechanism like a vacuum cleaner. However, nowadays, some carpet cleaners come with a vacuum too. You can get those at your local hardware or online. But, you have to keep in mind that vacuuming is necessary before deep cleaning a carpet.

How frequently should you clean your carpet?

It totally depends on you. However, if your carpets attract much dirt or vacuum able particles, you should vacuum it twice a week. Besides, if something falls on the carpet, such as sugar, bread crumbs or powder, etc., you should clean it right away.

As a result, don’t forget, and it won’t spread throughout the room. If your carpet remains clean almost always, you can vacuum once in a month.

On the other hand, most homeowners do the deep cleaning twice or thrice in a year. Again, it depends on your preference. If you are busy, you can do it once in a year, but don’t forget to do regular vacuuming.

Final Words

So far, you have got your answer to the question of can you use a carpet cleaner as a vacuum?

In today’s polluted world, dirt on the carpets is microscopic and hardly visible. The rug may seem clean while it has a strong chance that it’s filthy. Fortunately, a vacuum cleaner and carpet cleaner comes handy for cleaning the carpet right away.

For your information, living in a filthy and dirty carpet may develop asthma or allergies. So, it is necessary to confirm a clean and safe environment at home for your own good. Hence, clean your carpet frequently and stay healthy.