Carpet Cleaning Guide: Do You Keep Cleaning Carpet Until Water Is Clear?

Carpet cleaners are excellent cleaning tools that are used by both home users and professionals. Good carpet cleaner removes surface and deeply embedded dirt from the carpet, protects it from new dust and dirt, improves air quality, rejuvenates the carpet, etc.

However, when cleaning the carpets, many times dirt water simply keeps coming and coming, making many users wonder how long they should clean the carpet.

Published: January 30, 2023.

How Do Carpet Cleaners Work?

Carpet cleaners feature two tank design, with one tank intended for clean water/cleaning solution and another tank intended for dirty water/dirty liquids.

As the cleaning solution is sprayed over the carpet, it is worked into the carpet fibers via a spinning brushroll and then removed from the carpet using strong suction.

Many carpet cleaners also feature a cleaning hose with the cleaning brush, used for cleaning stairs, upholstery, and similar elevated surfaces - operation is very similar, except it is up to the user to work the cleaning solution into the surface using the brush.

There are also models where cleaning solution/foam is applied on the carpet independently from the carpet cleaner itself - such cleaning ensures a certain time for the cleaning solution/foam to act, improving the cleaning but also prolonging the cleaning process.

Carpet spot cleaners are "smaller cousins" of carpet cleaners and are used to clean only the dirty spots on the carpets (hence the name) or to clean smaller areas, including stairs and upholstery.

If You don't have large carpeted areas to clean regularly, consider carpet spot cleaner. But, if You do have large carpeted areas, a full-size carpet cleaner can be of great help in keeping the home safer and cleaner.

Why Is Vacuumed Water Dirty?

During the cleaning process, the cleaning solution is sprayed over the carpet and worked into the carpet.

Cleaning liquid and foam detach the dirt particles from carpet fibers and remove them from the carpet after the dirty water is vacuumed into the carpet cleaner.

So, as long as the carpet cleaner is picking up dirty water, the carpet is not fully clean, and one should continue with the cleaning.

In most cases, after one cleaning/shampooing cycle, if the vacuumed water is still dirty, one should make one or more rinsing passes.

But what causes the dirty water to be so dirty?

Very Dirty Carpet

A vacuum cleaner with a good brushroll can help the user remove plenty of dirt from the carpet, but sticky messes and residues can't be removed using just suction and brushrolls. To remove such stubborn dirt, one needs a good cleaning solution combined with the mechanical action of the brushroll and suction.

Note: before carpet cleaning, be sure to remove objects and obstacles from the carpet, allowing the user to clean the complete surface. Also, vacuuming the dry dirt using a good carpet vacuum is highly recommended.

So, if your carpet is very dirty, don't be surprised if the carpet cleaner picks up dirty water even after several passes. This may happen when cleaning heavily soiled carpets, carpets with various spills and stains, and similar.

Excess Foam/Cleaning Solution

Using excess foam or too much cleaning solution may be the cause of why your carpet cleaner constantly vacuums dirty water - as the foam is created, foam bubbles may discolor the water, making it lightly gray/brownish.

All cleaning solutions and foams come with instructions on how to use them and in what ratio - read the instructions and do as their manufacturer recommends.

If/when You put too much foam or cleaning solution, the only remedy is to make a few additional rinsing passes to remove as much possible foam/cleaning solution from the carpet.

And those rinsing passes increase the amount of moisture in the carpet, prolonging the drying time and potentially causing damage to the carpet or the surface beneath the carpet.

Note: not all cleaning solutions are created equal - they differ according to the type of carpet and type of dirt they are supposed to clean.

Too Fast Cleaning

When the carpet cleaner is pulled too fast over the cleaned area, the unit's suction doesn't have enough time to remove dirty water, requiring one or two more passes to remove as much as possible dirty water.

This gives the impression that the vacuumed water is still dirty, but actually, the user is vacuuming/cleaning all the time the very same water.

When cleaning carpets, move the carpet cleaner at a slow but steady pace, as recommended by the manufacturer. If You notice that the vacuumed water is very dirty, do another pass, but this time rinse the surface using not too much clean water.

Missed Spots

One of the recommendations when carpet cleaning is to remove the objects and obstacles from the carpet and to traverse the carpet in rows, slow but steady.

Some overlapping of the rows is recommended to avoid missed spots. 1-2 inches (2.5-5cm) of overlapping is good to go - it prolongs the cleaning a little bit but prevents missed spots.

If You are running a second pass and You hit a dirty spot, instead of almost clean water, the carpet cleaner will vacuum the very dirty water just like during the first cleaning pass.

Mold In The Carpet

Carpet mold can be rather dangerous for human and pet health - it stays hidden for a long time, causing harm and damaging the property (carpets, floors, even walls).

Mold is created due to the moisture residue in the carpet. This moisture can come from too frequent carpet cleaning, various spills, general water damage, and similar.

As the carpet is cleaned, mold is slowly cleaned from within the carpet fibers and from the carpet padding. It is very hard, practically impossible, to remove all the mold from the carpet and the floor beneath the carpet using just carpet cleaners.

And as long as there is a mold, a vacuumed water/liquid will be dirty, maybe not by much, but it definitely will not be clean.

So, if your carpet cleaner is constantly picking up dirty water, check the carpet from below and look for signs of mold.

When to Call Professionals for Help?

Professional cleaning services are not expensive as some people think. Also, they do it daily and do it properly - just check reviews in local yellow or similar pages and go for services with good reviews.

Professional cleaning services want to clean your carpet properly to have another satisfied customer - after all, a satisfied customer is a returning customer, a win-win situation for both sides.

Also, they clean by using proper ratios of cleaning solutions and water, they don't rush the cleaning tasks, but they also don't have time to waste, they have proper, heavy-duty tools, tons of experience on such and similar jobs, etc.

In the end, they can help You with good advice on how to keep your carpets and other surfaces clean.

So, if You are not satisfied with how clean your carpet is or You suspect mold or anything similar, contact a local carpet cleaning service.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are some of the most common Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about carpet cleaning:

How many times do you have to shampoo the carpet until the water is clear?

Carpets are generally shampooed only once, but they can be rinsed using clean water several times.

If You have a carpet cleaner that uses cleaning solution and not just plain water, be sure to use the cleaning solution as recommended and to make slow passes, allowing the carpet cleaner to remove as much foam/cleaning solution/dirty liquids as possible.

If the carpet feels soapy after cleaning, repeat the cleaning using plain water.

Should you rinse the carpet with water after shampooing?

Some cleaning solutions don't require the user to rinse the carpet - a single wet vacuuming pass, slow enough, is all that is required to remove foam/cleaning solution/dirty water.

Again, if the carpet feels soapy, make one pass using nothing but plain water.

How do I get my carpet really clean?

Get a good carpet cleaner and a proper cleaning solution, and use them as recommended.

Or call a professional cleaning service for help.

Should I turn on the heat after the carpet cleaning?

The amount of water left in the carpet after cleaning is relatively small, and it usually takes at least 6-8 hours for the carpet to dry.

But this depends on the local conditions - heat and draft can help the carpet dry faster.

Few Final Words

Cleaning the carpet until the vacuumed water is clear ensures that the carpet is thoroughly clean.

As long as the vacuumed water is dirty, it means that there is something in the carpet that is coloring the water - more dirt, cleaning solution/foam, mold, and similar.

However, if it continues, consider re-reading the instructions of the cleaning solution or even a carpet cleaner and check for mold.

In the end, sometimes it is the cheapest, fasted and the best solution is to contact professional cleaning services...