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 to 18 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.
Now that we've broken down all the helpful carpet cleaning tips, it's time to get ready and freshen your space!
Frequently asked questions
How often should I have my carpets professionally cleaned?
As a general rule, carpets should be professionally cleaned every 12-18 months. It is also recommended that you follow the suggested cleaning methods and schedules as per the carpet manufacturer.
Vacuuming Tips
Proper vacuuming is the easiest and most effective way tokeep your carpet clean. Removing loose soil while it remains on the carpet surface prevents dirt from being ground into the carpet pile. Removing embedded soil is more difficult and time consuming than removing surface soil.
Before vacuuming your carpet, check the beater bar height.
Most upright vacuums are equipped with a beater bar brush attached to the underside of the unit. The beater setting can make, or break, your new carpet. If it’s set too low, it will be hard to push, and can cause damage. For looped pile carpets, it is recommended that you use a suction-only or canister vacuum. If this type of vacuum is not available, be sure to set the beater bar on its highest setting. This setting should lift the beater bar into the unit, pulling it away from the carpet pile.
Tips for selecting the right vacuum: A good vacuum typically has features that allow you to adjust the height, beater bar rotation and fan speed. Vacuums with large wheels, self-propelled vacuums and/or specialty tools can also help ensure easy and effective carpet maintenance.
How to vacuum: Use slow, repetitive front-to-back motions in an overlapping sequence. A quick once over doesn’t do much. On the other hand, don’t press down or make too many passes over the same spot. Instead, move slightly to the left or right about every four strokes.
Setting the right vacuuming frequency: You should vacuum at least once a week with a CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute) Seal of Approval/Green Label vacuum cleaner. However, the more foot traffic over your carpet, the more you need to vacuum.
Vacuum Care Tips:
- Periodically inspect your vacuum to keep it functioning properly.
- Keep the instructions that came with your vacuum and refer to them periodically.
- Keep brushes clean (for example, remove tangled hair) and replace them when worn.
- Typically, worn brushes are stiff, which cause surface texture change on carpet.
- Empty containers or replace bags when half full.
- Look for rough edges or bent metal on your machine that can snag carpet
