Abstract: A method of cleaning a soiled carpet by first prespraying the carpet with a preselected liquid chemical sprayed through a nozzle at a preselected specific pressure/flow rate to obtain an optimized spray droplet size which penetrates deep into the carpet while utilizing only a minimum volume of chemical solution and preventing overwetting of the carpet. After the prespray chemical has had sufficient time to chemically react with soil in the carpet, then the carpet is rinsed with pure water. The final step in the process is the extracting, by use of a vacuum, the prespray chemical and pure water from the carpet.