​We often get asked if it is wise to vacuum your carpets after getting them cleaned. This question is usually based around when to vacuum the carpets, and not if they should every be vacuumed again.

So the simple answer is YES! You should vacuum your carpets after getting them cleaned, but only if the carpet is 100% dry. And we mean DRY.

​To be quite honest the benefits of vacuuming your carpets after you clean them (a bad idea for YOU to clean them) or after a professional cleans them are pretty small.

But after having said that, there are a couple of benefits that to vacuuming after carpet cleaning.

1. You will get out some additional cleaning residue. If your carpets were cleaned the right way there should be very little cleaning residue left in your carpet to begin with. But in many cases poor carpet cleaning (especially when you do it yourself) leads to too much cleaning residue being left in your carpet and this is not a good thing.

​When this cleaning residue dries, in many cases, there is a powdery flaky substance in your carpet; and by vacuuming your carpets after they have been cleaned you can get a lot of this residue out of your carpet. And getting out carpet cleaning chemical residue is always a good thing.

There is a carpet cleaning method called Encapsulation Cleaning that basically leaves EVERYTHING in your carpet, dirt and cleaning agent. This method relies on soil "extraction" to come during the vacuuming process. This is the only time when leaving cleaning agent in your carpet is accepted and even then this type of cleaning is NOT recommended for residential environments.

2. Gives The Carpet a More Uniform Appearance. While the vacuum itself can lead to "vacuum patterns" in your carpet (depending on the type of carpet) the cleaning patterns many carpet cleaning machines leave (including those of professionals) in your carpet are NOT wanted.

By vacuuming your carpet after it has been cleaned you will get rid of most, if not all, of these carpet cleaning marks a carpet machine or wand make.

On a side note: Many carpet cleaners purposely leave patterns in your carpet from their cleaning. And this is NOT good. Many professional carpet cleaners leave these patterns because they cover up dirty traffic areas and spots or stains they did not get out or clean properly. The pattern is put there to trick the eye into not seeing these problems. This is a very poor practice by many carpet cleaners and you should not allow this. Make sure you have your carpet cleaner brush or rake the carpet after they have cleaned it. It allows you to REALLY see how the carpet looks and the carpet will also dry faster.

​In the end run vacuuming your carpets after they have been cleaned is a good idea but ONLY IF THE CARPET IS 100% DRY!

​If you vacuum your carpets before they are dry there is a very good chance you are going to transfer soil from the vacuum cleaner, especially the brushes, onto the carpet you just had cleaned. Obviously this not good.

​At Linton's Carpet Cleaning we usually get very fast dry times so you can usually vacuum your carpets the same day, or early the next morning.

And speaking of dry carpet. In our next article the subject will be CARPET CLEANING DRY TIMES.

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