What is a Carpet Bonnet?

Carpet bonnets are durable fiber devices that fit over the rotors specialized floor and carpet cleaning machines. Typically, a carpet bonnet is made of a fiber blend that includes cotton, rayon and possibly polyester. The result is a body that is capable of absorbing a great deal of moisture while retaining the ability to gently lift surface dirt from a bare floor or a carpet.

In actual construction, a carpet bonnet may be woven into a material that is distinguished by cut ends that are similar to low shag carpet. In other instances, the design for the carpet bonnet may resemble looped carpet. There are a few examples of the carpet bonnet on the market today that make use of a design that includes both looped and cut ends in a pattern. Purportedly, this combined design makes it possible to use the carpet bonnet on any thickness of carpet.

The carpet bonnet is always used along with a carpet bonnet cleaner. This electronic device resembles an upright vacuum cleaner or floor sweeper. The bonnet cleaner does not contain a storage reservoir like a steam cleaning machine, or a vacuum pouch like a vacuum cleaner. The bonnet is soaked in water with a cleaning solution, wrung out, and then placed on the rotor end of the machine. The machine is then moved across the carpet in straight lines, making sure to overlap the line upon making a turn. As the machine is moved over the surface of the carpet, the moist carpet bonnet helps to lift surface dirt and stains from the fibers, without leaving behind a lot of moisture on the surface of the carpet.

Generally, the carpet bonnet is manufactured to work with several different types of bonnet cleaners, although some machines require a specific proprietary bonnet. Many of the carpet bonnet products on the market today will adequately clean five to seven hundred square feet before requiring a second dunk and wring in the pail of water. When the manufacturer recommends the use of a spray cleaner along with the cleaning solution in the water, the general advice is to spray no more than one hundred square feet of the carpet at a time. This is because the spray solution may dry out before the carpet bonnet is applied to the larger area.