Keeping carpets clean and stain-free in a home with clumsy children, pets, and adults can be a difficult task. We all want our carpets to stay looking fluffy and new, but without regular maintenance and protection, carpets can quickly become worn, stained, and dirty. Follow these 6 expert tips to keep your carpets looking their best!
1.Vacuum regularly to remove dust, allergens, dirt, and debris.
2.Clean carpets with a machine every 3-6 months to remove oils, odours, and stains.
3.Use carpet shampoo with stain protection for added protection.
4.Use only neutral pH shampoo and stain removers to maintain protection treatments.
5.Treat spills and stains immediately.
6.Take shoes off and lay down rugs or mats in high-traffic areas.
Vacuum Carpets Regularly
Hoovering up debris, dog & cat fur, crumbs and mess from carpets regularly is the most basic of all steps to protecting your carpets from stains and dirt. Making sure to vacuum regularly will ensure all dust, allergens and dirt are lifted from the carpet before they set in deeply and make it difficult to remove.
Don’t wait until the carpet looks visibly dirty and dusty. Regularly clean to maintain clean and clear carpets, which will also help to protect the carpet pile.
Clean Your Carpets with a Carpet Shampoo Machine Regularly
Cleaning your carpets with a machine which will easily extract out dirt, grease, odours and stains from carpets. Leaving carpets too long without deep cleaning, will only make the carpets harder to clean, and they won’t maintain that like-new finish you’re aiming for.
Aim to deep clean carpets with a machine every 3-6 months. If you have pets, you might want to increase the frequency of carpet shampooing to remove oils from dog fur, and other odours such as urine, vomit and faeces.
If you don’t have a machine, you can hire one, available online or in stores.
When choosing which carpet shampoo solution to use, make sure you choose the correct one for the carpet type you have. See our blog post on pH levels to guide you further on this here.
Choose a Low pH Carpet Shampoo Solution to Maintain Protection Treatments
Making sure that you use carpet cleaning shampoos & stain removers that have a low pH is important if your carpets have a protection treatment, such as a stain guard.
Using a high alkaline solution can strip the fibres of the protection treatment, which will make carpets vulnerable to staining and dirt. Be especially careful on new carpets to use a neutral pH solution to ensure your carpets stay protected.
The carpet shampoos & Pre-Spray treatments from our range that are low pH and safe to use on delicate wool & carpets with protection treatments are: Clean & Deodorise solutions, Pet Carpet Cleaners, Pet Pro Carpet Shampoo, Clean & Protect & Pre Spray No.1.
Treat Spills & Stains Straight Away
Of course spillages are bound to happen, but it’s how you deal with them which is the most important thing to remember when caring for your carpets.
Depending on what the spillage is, you can mop up the liquid straight away with a cloth or sponge and not have any evidence remaining on the carpet whatsoever. But for many other spills, they can leave behind a stain, such as fruit juice, red wine, tea & coffee, grease, make up and pet stains.
You should choose a specific stain remover for the problem at hand. You’ll find a more detailed guide on this in our stain remover blog post here.
The quicker you treat the stain, the more likely it is to come out of the fibres.
Take Your Shoes off & Lay Down Mats in High Traffic Areas
Making sure you and your family take their shoes off when they come into the house is important to preventing dirt, debris and stains from building up on the carpet pile.
There’s nothing more annoying than when your kids walk through the door with their muddy boots on! If this happens, clean up after them straight away if you can.
Try to keep the routine of shoes wiped and off before walking onto the carpets to keep them as clean and fresh as possible at all times. It might be an idea to lay down rugs and mats in high traffic areas, such as hallways and door entryways.
Those are our top professional tips for cleaning & protecting your carpets from stains and dirt.
Anything we haven’t answered in this blog post? Send us an email info@dirtbusters.co.uk and our experts will help to guide you further!