What gets called steam cleaning is hot water and a vacuum pass strong enough to pull nearly all of it back out.
Hot water extraction works by forcing hot water, under pressure, down into the carpet pile to loosen soil, then immediately pulling that water back out with a strong vacuum pass. The cleaning agent matters less than people assume. What actually determines the result is how much of the water goes back out versus how much stays behind in the pad.
Skip that step, or rush it, and the carpet dries stiff, re-soils within a few weeks because detergent residue was left behind to attract dirt, or starts smelling because moisture sat in the pad longer than it should have. A properly run extraction pass takes longer than a quick spray-and-vacuum job for exactly that reason — the extra time is the part doing the work, not the part being skipped to save it.
Tell us the square footage and what you are dealing with and we will call back with a real number.
Get a Cleaning QuoteA few details on the rooms and any stains is plenty — we will follow up with a straight quote.