If you’re not careful, you can spend a fortune on carpet cleaning or carpet replacement services in your lifetime. The humble carpet is a popular flooring choice in many high-traffic areas of your home, meaning it’s prone to stains and dirt. This type of flooring is also the hardest to clean because it’s made from fibers. As such, dirt and stains become embedded in the carpet, meaning you can’t just wipe them away as you can on hardwood floors.
There’s no need to panic – it is possible to clean and maintain your carpet without splashing the cash. Below, you’ll find the top carpet cleaning tips to follow for excellent flooring maintenance:
Tip 1: Choose a good carpet
The first tip is to pick a good and reliable carpet manufacturer. You probably didn’t know this, but carpets come in different varieties and are made from various materials. As such, some are way better at dealing with stains than others. Things like Ottawa Diamond Flooring Carpet Flooring utilize something called a Purecolor system that makes the carpet fibers more resistant to stains.
In turn, a carpet like this will be easier to clean as the stains don’t set in as deeply – or as quickly. So, your carpet cleaning hacks begin at the beginning by choosing the right type of carpet.
Tip 2: Act fast
Tip number two is short and sweet: act quickly when you see a stain.
Don’t give stains a chance to settle into the carpet or they will be harder to remove. All kinds of chemical reactions happen that make stains embed themselves into carpet fibers and stay there forever. Even with a good stain-resistant carpet choice, you will struggle to remove a stain that’s given time to settle down.
The moment you spot one, work on removing it! This is a classic cleaning tip for just general home cleaning as well – don’t wait around when there’s a stain or spillage.
Tip 3: Never scrub any stains
The biggest mistake you can make is to scrub stains in your carpet. Scrubbing or rubbing will damage your carpet and leave it looking really horrible. It can also encourage the stain to sink further into the fibers.
Instead, you need to blot the stains. Some warm water will be enough to handle the majority of stains, but you may need some extra help on stubborn ones. The good news is that vinegar and baking soda are both great at lifting stains from a carpet. Most of us have these in our kitchen, so you can clean your carpet without using any harmful chemicals.
Tip 4: Vacuum regularly
Never make the error of only vacuuming your carpet when it’s visibly dirty. 90% of the dirt in your carpet is invisible as it’s deep within the fibers. This includes dust, general dirt, pet hair, and everything else. When you start to see the dirt, that’s a big sign that your carpet is absolutely filthy.
The longer you leave it, the dirtier your carpet will get. This is an issue as it requires more effort to vacuum, which can lead to your vacuum cleaner damaging the carpet fibers. Everyone should aim to vacuum their carpet once a week. If you have areas that see loads of traffic, try to vacuum them twice a week. You’re basically refreshing your carpet with each vacuum, stopping dirt from accumulating and ruining your lovely investment.
Tip 5: Get a deep clean once a year
All of the previous tips will help you maintain your carpet without calling for outside help. Ideally, you should only ever call a professional carpet cleaning company once per year. Sometimes, you can get away with once every two years or once every eighteen months. It depends on how well you look after your carpet and how much action it sees.
Still, hiring a professional carpet cleaner ensures your carpet gets the luxury treatment now and then. These pros can use equipment you can’t get your hands on, as well as techniques you won’t know. But, you should still follow the tips above to ensure you only have to call a pro once a year at most.
Carpet cleaning always seems like a daunting task – especially when compared to cleaning other floors. With the right approach, you will keep your carpet in excellent condition for much longer. Learn how to clean your carpet correctly, and don’t forget to vacuum frequently. Round things off with an annual deep clean and you’ll constantly have some fresh flooring.
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