This is one of those times where we ask, do you want the good news or the bad news first?
Okay, we will start with the bad…
BAD NEWS: Maintaining your home’s carpets is not easy. Daily wear and tear definitely take their toll on the appearance and sometimes leave you moving furniture or placing rugs in weird or awkward spots to cover up unsightly spots on the floor.
GOOD NEWS: There are a variety of things you can do to help prolong the life and beauty of your carpet or area rug that are fairly easy to do and help reduce the amount of dirt on or in your carpet! Read on for our carpet care tips.
The Best Way to Clean Your Carpet
Clean Regularly
Dirty carpets not only look bad, they’re also loaded with pollutants and gross grime. That’s why it’s important to clean your carpeting regularly, whether it’s done professionally or by yourself. If you want to extend the life of your carpet, it’s most important to have it professionally cleaned at least once a year. To do it yourself, the carpet cleaning method we’d recommends is steam cleaning. This penetrates deep into the fibers and lifts out the dirt and everything else we track in on our shoes.
Wipe Your Feet
To track in less dirt and grime, make sure you place a welcome mat on your outside step on your front and back door to help minimize the amount of dirt and other debris that’s tracked into the house and onto your carpeting.
Regularly Vacuum
Rooms that are considered to be “high traffic” should be vacuumed at least 2 to 3 times a week. This keeps the material from becoming worn down by dirt and traffic and ensures a clean new look every time. All other areas of the house that also have carpet should be vacuumed at least once a week. Depending on the type of carpet you have, you’ll want to use a vacuum with a rotating brush, a beater bar, or suction only. (Be sure to know what vacuum is recommended for your carpet or area rug by checking with the manufacturers guidelines.) Also, keeping traffic and other use factors in mind, consider professional cleaning every 12 to18 months unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer.
Clean Spots & Spills Immediately
Whether it’s a drink spill, an accident from your pet or child, it seems whatever is not supposed to be on your carpet –ends up spilled on it. To remove a stain, simply blot and dry form the outside of the stain to the inside. Then rinse thoroughly with clean water and blot again. It’s very important to never scrub the carpet because you would risk ruining the carpet fibers or letting the spill soak through and damaging the carpet padding underneath.
Furniture
Consider cleaning your furniture anytime you go to clean the carpet. Furniture can also entrap unwanted dirt or dust particles and can work to hinder your efforts at keeping your carpet clean.
Carpet Snags
Whatever you do, do not pull on snags that appear in your carpet as that will damage it—simply use scissors to clip them.