You may have put in place several measures like many doormats, insisting that members of your family and visitors invariably leave their footwear outside. And so forth to ensure that your flooring suffers minimal damage. Although these measures are indeed desirable, they do not constitute insurance against carpet damage that is inevitable. Wool rich carpets are relatively more expensive, and they can hide soiling more efficiently compared to synthetic rugs. Woolen carpets are also easier for cleaning.
Regular Vacuuming
One way to keep your carpet clean is regular vacuuming, the first time as soon as it is laid out and generally at weekly intervals after that. A new rug usually contains some loose fibers, and vacuuming will get rid of these. You will note that plenty of loose fibers come off during the initial weeks of cleaning, though, as a proportion to the pile weight. What you see is just a small portion and does not affect the performance of the carpet in any manner.
To help you further with carpet restoration and carpeting cleaning, we have collated these useful tips:-
Use Barrier Mats
Barrier mats help in keeping your carpets clean. You can use offcuts from the new carpets for this and lay them in your kitchen doorways or other areas where the carpet is likely to get soiled at regular intervals. However, these mats must be kept clean so that the blemish does not enter the main areas.
Vacuuming
Regular vacuuming is the best way to keep your carpets clean. A piece of upright equipment is always recommended since the cylindrical brushing suits the cut pile type of rugs best. When you follow a regular vacuuming schedule, you can ensure that your carpets look good and clean for several years.
The Inevitable Spills
Spills are inevitable and more so when your family comprises of young kids and the elderly. Also, you know how to keep the carpet clean with a pet.
The first rule when a spill does occur is not to panic.
The second rule is to attend to the spill without loss of time.
The third rule is to never rub on a sill since you can potentially cause bursting of the pile, making it look fluffy and perhaps lighter.
The treatment for different kinds of spills varies, and you should know these before you attend to a spill.
Use dabbing/blotting or still better use a vacuum cleaner with a wet suction facility. Follow up this with these treatments for stains caused by different materials.
Tea/Coffee, Red Wine, Port, Fruit Juices, Blood And Sherry
Use an absorbent tissue to soak up the most liquid and dab the affected area. Using a clean white cloth moistened using a solution of warm water and carpet shampoo (diluted) or a stain removal spray. Blot using paper towels or clean white cloth or a wet suction vacuum repeating the process as needed. When all the stain is removed, dab using warm water with the help of a clean towel and suck up or blot remaining moisture until the surface is dry. The final act is brushing the area towards the pile.
Chewing Gum
Use a proprietary freezing element to freeze chewing gum and break up the frozen remains before removing them. When you freeze the chewing gum effectively, removing it should be relatively easy.
Ink
Liquid ink from the carpet can be removed in the same way you extract coffee/tea, blood or fruit juices, etc. as explained above. But, if it is ink from ballpoint pens, the treatment differs. In this case, you can use methylated spirits (clear- no color) and blot carefully. Brush the problem area thoroughly with a brush towards the impacted pile only when dry.
Grease
Most of the grease from the carpet can be removed using a blunt knife. The residue should then be blotted with a grease/oil spot remover and continue blotting at frequent intervals using an absorbent cloth till all the remnants of grease are entirely removed.
Paint
Water-based paint is relatively easy to remove when you do not allow the paint to dry on the carpet. You should use only cold water and absorbent tissue. To remove any residue, you can use diluted shampoo as with oil-based paints. A better option is to cover the carpet with polyethylene sheets before starting painting.
Professional Carpet Cleaning
Most of the carpet cleaning tips we have discussed above are DIY. But you should be aware that professional carpet cleaning/carpet restoration is wholly different since they use various cleaning agents and heavy pieces of equipment. Therefore, getting a professional carpet done at least once every year is highly desirable.
Dry foam, absorbent powder, and deep cleaning extraction using hot water are some of the methods employed by the professionals.
Conclusion
Even when you do everything necessary at regular intervals to keep your carpet clean, some amount of blemish tends to settle down into the bottom layer of the rug. DIY methods do not reach this layer. Therefore professional cleaning will help to ensure that your carpet is always thoroughly clean and stay clean longer.
