Cold Water Extraction: Is It Effective On Carpets?

Is cold water extraction as effective as traditional hot water extraction?
This is one of the great debates of the carpet cleaning industry. Scientifically, hot water has been proven to improve the effectiveness of cleaning chemicals. However, many new carpet cleaning chemicals perform very well using cold water.

Many green cleaning advocates encourage the use of cold water for two reasons:

1. When hot water and chemicals are mixed, they can release fumes that can be potentially dangerous to the user. Cold water minimizes this.
2. Cold-water machines generally use considerably less energy, making the machines much more sustainable, and very often these systems are more cost effective as well.

Our recommendation is to evaluate the soil load and make a determination from there whether to use a hot- or cold-water machine. For excessive soiling, hot water may prove more effective.

— Jolynn Kennedy, marketing director, Tornado Industries, West Chicago, Ill.

Cold water should never be used in a carpet extractor. It’s just not very effective. Most carpet extractors use hot tap water, which is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooler water than this would be less effective. Some carpet extractors have built-in heaters that will heat the water to higher temperatures. The hotter the water, the more effective the cleaning. Even when using a carpet extractor with a heater, it runs more efficiently if hot tap water is used to fill the tank.

— Scott Keller, vertical market manager–commercial buildings; Bob Abrams, product manager; and Brian Simmons, product manager, Clarke, Plymouth, Minn.

Check back next week as we talk about tools to clean the stairs.