Is it true that one really can't steam carpets in manufactured homes? If it is true, why not?

Well, obviously anything to do with a mobile home seems to draw a lot of contention from folks, hehehe....And I will point out... that you asked about MANUFACTURED homes, not necessarily a MOBILE home. Not all manufactured homes are ';cheap trailers'; -- so the comment about all carpets being of a lower grade is incorrect. Ive replaced a lot of carpeting in mobile and manufactured homes (many times because the homeowner simply wanted a different color)... and the quality of carpeting Ive used has always been as good as what you can buy from a flooring company's mid-price range of offerings. Sometimes better. (Ive seen some really nice berber carpeting in modular homes) Lumping all manufactured houses into the 'cheap trailer' category is not only unfair, it is incorrect. All motor vehicles are not necessarily cheap compacts are they?





YES, you can steam clean a carpet... you can even shampoo one, if you are careful about it.





The comment made about the carpet being laid, and then the walls going over the top of it is true of a lot of mobile homes, but not all of them. It's easy to check, just go to one of your outside walls, and lift the carpet. If you have carpet under the wall, as many of them build it, you won't be able to lift the carpet away from the wall. If there is carpet tack under it, then you should be able to pry a corner up, without damaging it.





The comment about carpet stretching when it gets wet, is also true. This happens to ALL carpets though, not just ';cheap ones';. So... the trick is to get the fibers clean, without soaking the whole carpet down. I worked as a janitor before I did anything else, heheheh.. many many many years ago...and I've kept up with the modern machines and techniques. With some good cleaner for ';heavy traffic areas';, and judicious use of the cleaner, you can clean a carpet very well, without soaking it. Use the steam cleaner ONLY on the areas away from the walls... I wouldnt squirt a lot of liquid on ANY carpet right along a wall, whether it's a mobile home, or not. The sheetrock along a wall acts like a sponge, and the liquid travels up it in capillary action.





I once had to replace ALL the sheetrock in a single room, because someone had left a window open while the homeowners were away, and it had rained for a few days. Even the sheetrock on the wall opposite to the window, 20 feet away, had to be replaced, because the carpet got wet, and then the water soaked up thru the drywall.





Flooring -- Yes, the majority of the lower end mobile homes are made with particle board... but more and more of these types of homes have switched to OSB (Oriented Strand Board), or ';wafer board'; as it is sometimes called. The higher end homes tend to lean towards exterior grade plywood. (Sometimes it is offered as an ';upgrade'; option on the home). Again....as long as you do not soak the floor with the machine, you will be just fine. The real problem with particle board flooring is when it gets wet, and stays wet. THEN, it will warp and deteriorate. If it gets wet once, and you dry it out promptly, you will have little to no problems with it... I know, Ive worked on enough floors.





One more comment about carpet stretching -- ALL carpets stretch over time. Some more than others. IF a carpet was installed and the walls built over it....and the carpet needs to be stretched (it will eventually), then all you need to do, is cut the carpet along the wall, and install some carpet tack. Carpet tack only runs a few cents a stick, and you can purchase as little or as much as you need.... I buy it by the box myself, hehehe. Place the carpet tack about 1/4'; to 1/2'; from the wall (do NOT put any in a pathway, hehehe), aim the little gripper nails towards the walls, and hammer down the nails that go into the floor every so often, or staple it in place. Use a power stretcher to stretch the carpet... 'knee kickers' are too hard on your back, hehehe. Trim off the excess carpet, and press it down into the tack strip, and tuck it under around the edge. That's all there is to it... it's easy to do yourself, and the tools can be rented at most supply stores, or rental companies. Oh, if you had to lift a carpet at a pathway..... either use a metal carpet edging to tack it back down, or fold it under itself, and staple it, making sure not to leave any staples raised up. Hammer them down flat. (A pneumatic staple gun, say, 1/8'; to 14'; wide crown, works ideally for this.)


If you prefer, most carpet layers will come in and stretch a carpet for you, for very little money... say, 30 to 45 dollars per room, and they can do it in quick order....even if they need to install some carpet tack.





So, it is NOT true that you cannot steam clean carpets in manufactured homes. You can steam clean ANY carpet in ANY home, if you do not put too much liquid down.... even the 'cheap' homes with low end price carpeting can be steam cleaned. I personally see no need to soak the carpeting in ANY home, even the high priced carpets... use the detergents to get the job done. The water from a steam cleaner only acts as a transfer agent....to move the dirt from the fibers, into the tank....the detergent removes the dirt from the fibers...not the water. Soaking any carpet does not help.





Have FunIs it true that one really can't steam carpets in manufactured homes? If it is true, why not?
well you can steam clean them of course, but one thing you best consider, alot of those homes the carpet and vinyl is installed prior to the walls being built and installed over them. When you steam clean a carpet it will expand, cause the backing is made from a latex based glue and fibers, it's going to have wrinkles in it. And with no tack strip to pull back up to and take out the extra carpet your in for a headache.Is it true that one really can't steam carpets in manufactured homes? If it is true, why not?
I only know that unless you paid for a carpet upgrade, the carpeting used in manufactured homes is less than premium. Being the standard carpeting is usually the lowest quality/cost they can get, it is not as rugged. I would be very careful of aggressive cleaning agents and practices.
Off course you can steam clean carpets in manufactured homes.





Just like any other home with a wood sub-floor though, it's important to use a company that has a top notch water extraction machine.
I rented a steam cleaner and did my carpets myself. Nice part was being able to rinse several times with just plain water. Really got the scuz out. Be sure to suction up as much moisture as you can, particle board flooring will begin to degrade if left wet too long.





Want to come do my carpet for me when you do yours?
I am guessing because of where they are seamed together, try getting someone to dry clean them.
yes you can steam clean the carpets in a manufactured house.. the reason some may say you cant is a reason not mentioned above.. most not all but almost all manufactured houses are manufactured with particle board as underlayment instead of using plywood... when this type of board gets wet it will expand and become weaker.... i did some work for a friend who has one and in the bathrooms they did spray some kind of water treatment on those boards similar to pressure treating them...just make sure they or you go slow on the sucking up the water part as to extract as much water as possible off the subfloor..to keep from problems down the road..