Read 10 Things Experts Have to Say About Carpet Cleaning
Sometimes it seems virtually impossible to truly get carpet clean. From pet odors to small stains, there’s always a need to clean the carpet. Below are 10 tips based on what experts have to say about carpet cleaning.
1. Maintain a Deep Cleaning Schedule
Preventative maintenance is the best way to handle anything that has to do with taking care of your home. When it comes to keeping your carpet in optimal condition, vacuuming is the very least you can do. Experts recommend having a deep cleaning schedule that you stick to without fail. It’s the best way to keep your carpet looking new and smelling fresh. If you have children or pets, there is more incentive for making sure you stay on schedule. Pets leave hair in the carpet and you want to make sure children crawling on the floor are not subjected to a significant amount of dirt.
2. Limit the Pressure
You might be surprised to find out that experts often recommend removing stains by lightly pressing on the area with a sponge. Instead of scrubbing the stain with heavy pressure, it’s best to gently remove it. Why? Because it prevents the stain from spreading to other carpet fibers. While this is contrary to what usually happens, it can prevent the stain from getting worse. You can use a cleaning product of your choice.
3. Use White Vinegar
It’s amazing how many different ways you can use vinegar. It happens to be a great solution for removing stains. If you have an area where there’s a large carpet stain, you can saturate it with a water and vinegar solution that can be deposited using a spray bottle. You’ll need to allow the solution to sit for about 20 minutes so that it saturates the stain and then use the sponge method previously mentioned.
4. Master Use of the Cloth
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when dealing with a spot, stain or any other issue that’s isolated to a small area of the carpet is not properly using the cloth for removal. Specifically, you have to avoid spreading the problem by scrubbing in areas where there is no problem. You should always start with a blotting motion. If you have to use additional pressure, do so carefully. It’s also important to use a white cloth to prevent the color from bleeding onto the carpet.
5. Ice Has a Dual Purpose
There are two distinct ways to use ice for taking care of your carpet. It can be used to remove dents in the carpet that exist as a result of having furniture in the same location for a long period of time. It can also be used to remove gum that has fallen on the floor. The ice is used to freeze the gum, which take about two to three minutes. After the gum is frozen, you’ll be able to lift it up much easier. There’s a chance that a spot treatment might be required and you can use the above referenced techniques.
6. Dish Detergent is Powerful
If you have a stain that has been particularly stubborn, there’s a product that’s probably already in your kitchen that can work to remove that stain. Just about any reputable brand of dish detergent works great at removing difficult stains. It’s prepared like other solutions using a spray bottle. However, if it’s a small stain, you can just dab the dish detergent on a cloth along with water and use the blotting method.
7. Hydrogen Peroxide is a Secret Weapon
It’s always good to have a backup solution if you have a carpet stain that’s difficult. Hydrogen peroxide might be the answer you’ve been looking for. You simply need to consider the number of products on the market that contain hydrogen peroxide to see just how effective it can be as a multi-purpose solution. It’s not only a secret weapon for many experts, but it’s also something that has been used for decades to deal with stains of all kinds. You can mix it with water for large areas or use it alone for deep and small carpet stains. Hydrogen peroxide is so effective that it’s been known to eliminate odor and stains from pet urine.
8. Avoid Chemicals When Possible
As you can already see, there are many natural solutions that can remove deep stains. Whether you are doing a weekly cleaning or a deep cleaning, it’s best to avoid harsh chemicals because you don’t want to expose your family to them. Fortunately, there are natural products on the market that can be used for cleaning small and large areas of your carpet.
9. Act Quickly
One of the most important rules of keeping your carpet clean is immediately dealing with any stains. In other words, as soon as you recognize that a problem exists, take a few minutes to get rid of it immediately. Whether you see a stain or something stuck to the carpet, act quickly so that the problem doesn’t get worse.
10. Keep Paper Towels on Hand
While a sponge or a cloth is often exactly what you need to remove a stain, you can always use a paper towel if you don’t have those items available. A good paper towel is great for absorbing whatever is in the carpet. A secret that often works is using a scrub brush to clean an area of your carpet and then placing paper towels on top of the area you’ve cleaned. You’ll then need to sit a heavy object on top of the paper towels for better absorption. It takes about 24 hours to dry, depending on the temperature.
These tips are great for ongoing carpet care. If you simply don’t want to deal with your carpet, you can always contact professional carpet cleaners.
