Wet carpet cleaning (also known as hot water extraction) is neither harmful nor toxic and is safe for children and pets. This system injects hot water into your carpet at high pressure and a powerful vacuum sucks up the water together with any dirt, cleaning products or other debris leaving no residue behind. Dry carpet cleaning methods come in many forms. Some methods utilize powders, crystals, solvents and even shampoos. Often harmful residues can be left behind resulting from a lack of rinsing and perform more of a surface clean compared to hot water extraction carpet cleaning.