Carpets (and all floors in general) take
quite a beating every day. You track outdoor debris through them daily, they
catch all the things you drop or spill. Of course, those of you with kids, pets
or both know that the mess multiplies exponentially depending on how many of
each you have and their size.
You know a steam cleaner is one of the best
ways to give your carpet a deep clean; you’ve heard it from plenty of people,
but maybe it sounds too expensive or too clunky. We understand entirely, and
that’s why we’re going to give you some tips for cleaning your carpet to make
your life a little easier.
Regular Cleaning
We don’t mean to insult you with this one.
It’s common for people to underestimate how often they should clean or how to
get the best out of their vacuum. There honestly are several tricks to
vacuuming your carpets that would help you keep on top of dirt.
1. Vacuum your house one time a week for
every person or twenty pounds of pet you have. By this we mean that if you
have three people and one cat in your house, you should vacuum three times a
week. If you have a forty-pound dog and live alone, you should still vacuum
three times a week. This’ll help keep on top of dander.
For those sorts of regular upkeep we don’t
suggest cleaning every part of your home, even under sofas. You should
concentrate on areas of heavy traffic. If you have a young child or baby, it
may be a good idea to do a quick vacuum every day because little children can eat
dust bunnies.
2. Vacuum horizontally and vertically. Carpet
fibres are twisted and will catch small fragments of dirt in them that can’t
easily be removed. You should vacuum vertically and then horizontally as it
will get at all angles of the fibres. The added benefit of doing this is that
it’ll help undo some of the crush damage done to your carpet. What’s crush
damage? After a carpet’s been in place for a few years you can tell where the
main path is because of the way that the fibres lie flatter than the others.
Spot Cleaning
Sometimes you simply spill something and
need to act fast to clean it up before it stains. It’s happened to everyone.
Before we go further, we’ll say that spot cleaning only works for fresh stains
on a small patch of carpet after something like a food spill. The best way to
go about spot cleaning is to:
- Use a plain white cloth; patterned or
dyed rags may transfer dye to your carpet
- Blot the stain dry with your cloth.
Discard this cloth and use a second one for the rest of the process.
- Use an appropriate carpet cleaner
based on the type of stain and the carpet you have. If you’re dealing with
bodily fluids you’ll need special cleaners.
- If the stain is blood, then you should
use cold water or hydrogen peroxide if the stain is wet. If it’s
dry use a hydrogen peroxide cleaner, followed by an enzyme based cleaner.
- For pet urine or other animal
droppings, so straight to an enzyme based cleaner. If it’s already set use
a vinegar-water solution to blot it, then use detergent and water.
You should avoid scrubbing the carpet to
prevent wear and tear. After you’ve used the detergent you should use your
second clean cloth soaked in water to blot up any remaining suds or mess. Don’t
soak the carpet. If you soak the carpet clean through you run the risk of mould
developing in the underlayer. Dry the area thoroughly.
Use A Powder
Cleaner
By far the easiest way to do a more
thorough clean of the entire carpet is to use a powder cleaner. Even baking
soda works quite well and it doubles as a deodoriser as well. Here’s the best
way to do it:
- First, do a normal vacuum of your
carpet to pick up most of the everyday dirt.
Sprinkle the powder liberally over your carpet, taking care to hit to neglected corners and crannies. - Leave the powder for at least thirty
minutes. Leaving it overnight gives the powder even more time to soften up
the stains and soak up the smells.
- Vacuum up the powder when done.
Use Carpet Shampoo
This is similar to the powder cleaner we
just mentioned, though with a few downsides. For this method, you will not need
a steam cleaner or other equipment.
- Purchase your carpet clean and follow
the instructions to create the right mixture.
- Cover the carpet in the shampoo but
again, do not let it soak too long. It’ll waste detergent and increase
drying time.
- Scrub at any stubborn stains using a
white cloth or soft bristled brush.
- Let the carpet dry.
- Vacuum up the shampoo.
The main downsides to this method when
compared to powder cleaner is that you’ll have to close off the area for much
longer in order to let the carpet dry. Wet or damp carpets can catch dirt more
easily as well, so if you do need to cross the carpet you’ll have to go
barefoot, in socks or wear bags over your feet. It would also be difficult to
clean a whole carpet this way without a steam cleaner. We recommend you use it
on larger or older stains.
Conclusion
As you can see, keeping on top of a regular
vacuuming schedule and doing spot cleaning as often as you can you’ll be able
to keep your carpet in much better condition without having to resort to a
steam cleaner. However, for exceptionally dirty carpets or very difficult
stains, we would still recommend hiring a steam cleaning or a professional
cleaning crew to tend to your carpet.
Feel free to contact us for quotes on our
services. We offer same day and next day services as well as others.