A detergent solution is sprayed lightly over the carpet which is then rotated through the carpet pile by an absorbent pad or bonnet attached to a floor machine. When sufficient soil adheres to the pad, it is rinsed in the detergent solution, wrung out, and reapplied. Variations of this procedure include the so-called "electrostatic," and CO2, or carbonated methods.

Equipment

This method's main component is agitation. The agitation is generated by mechanical means utilizing either a rotary floor scrubber (carpet or rugs) or hand held rotary scrubber (upholstery). Either of these scrubbers would have a bonnet piece covering the scrubber brushes bristles. The bonnet attachment itself could be constructed of several different materials, but most commonly cotton with a single rib line of a polypropylene material.

Method

A cleaning solution appropriate for the piece to be cleaned is applied to that piece with either a sprayer or through the mechanism of the scrubber itself. The bonnet is then activated and used to agitate the cleaning solution into the fibers or yarns thereby suspending the various soils. At this point the trick is to use a clean damp bonnet to act as the rinsing agent on the scrubber and to keep changing the bonnet pad out until there is no more soil coming on to the clean damp pads. Next is to extract or absorb as much of the moisture as possible from the treated material. The effectiveness here will determine how dry the finished product is and how long it will hold the attained results.

Advantages

Quick, simple and very inexpensive.

Disadvantages

Using much agitation can tend to be rather harsh on the fibers. It is difficult to obtain long lasting results because the bonnet is not very effective at all in rinsing and extracting out the soil and the cleaning solution introduced to the fibers.

When to use a Bonnet cleaning method

Perhaps in a commercial setting with frequent regular maintenance.