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Can a steam carpet cleaner replace a vacuum cleaner for general household cleaning?

We are considering buying a steam carpet cleaner instead of a vacuum, since we live in the country and our carpets get quite dirty? Does anyone know if this will work? I have read you should vacuum first and then steam clean. But we don't want to buy both and we don't have a lot of storage space. Thank you for any answers.

Public Comments

1. no,i have both and you need a vacum to get the dirt and grit out before you steam it
2. I wouldn't think so. But they are good to have around when carpets get those bad stains. But for general everyday use no.
3. You do not want to steam clean your carpet instead of vacuuming every week. It will make your carpet rot and become moldy and mildewy because it never dries completely. Buy a vacuum and rent a steamer once a year.
4. That is a negative. A steam cleaner is to pull up water. The best way to keep your carpet at its best is to vacuum (with a vacuum cleaner) every day, yes every day, and steam clean once evey 6 months to a year depending on how heavy the traffic is on your carpet.
5. I don't know about you, but I use a vacuum for a lot more than cleaning carpets. What about cobwebs, spider webs, bare floors, general dusting? I'd recommend getting a really good vacuum cleaner with a carpet beater brush, a canister one and not an upright since canisters are usually much more powerful, and it might help keep the carpets clean enough that you won't have to shampoo them often. If they really get ridiculously dirty in spite of a good vacuum, it's probably worth it to hire a pro once in a while. Their machinery does a much better job than what you can do yourself. You should be able to get a pretty good deal on a decent used very good quality vacuum at one of those stores that sells and services vacuums.
6. The steam cleaner will force some of the dirt down to the base of the carpet. You really have to vacuum first. Get an upright bagless vacuum, they don't take up that much space. I have a Eureka Optima, it's very small and it works great. In fact I've now bought another one for the downstairs.
7. you shouldn't. you should always vacuum before steam cleaning. The other day though I swear I seen a commercial for a vacuum that did both. I don't remember who it was by but you could search it on yahoo or google or something. good luck.