Carpet remains the most popular floor covering in the UK, however, with years of use your carpet is susceptible to damage, here are 10 tips on how you can get the most out of your carpet and make sure it looks its best for years.
Carpet is probably the most popular floor covering in the UK, the large majority of British homes have carpet in one form or another, and for good reason, carpet is naturally soft, relatively affordable to install, and looks beautiful. However, carpet floor covering has specific maintenance-related concerns. If you want to get the most out of your carpet and make sure it looks new for the longest period possible, there are steps you should take to clean and care for your carpet.
By taking a few easy steps and developing carpet care and a carpet cleaning routine you can get the most out of your carpet for the longest possible period. If you take care of your carpet, in the long run, it will be a worthwhile investment. If you neglect it and do not preserve it restoring your carpet to its previous condition may be impossible.
By following a few simple tips and paying special attention to your carpets, not limited to the occasional vacuum, you will get the most out of your precious floor coverings.
We will list 10 carpet care and carpet cleaning tips you can easily follow at home. With these tips, you will make sure you preserve the condition of your carpet for the longest possible period.
1. Vacuum regularly.
The large majority of surface soiling that will settle on your carpet will be dry. The easiest and one of the most important carpeting cleaning routines you should develop is regular vacuuming. Find the time to vacuum your carpet twice a week, preferably, however, if that is impossible for you you can get away with hoovering heavy traffic areas, such as hallways and staircases, once a week and thorough hoovering ones every two weeks. Cleaning is the best and possibly the easiest way to get the most out of your carpet and maximize its lifespan. You can start vacuuming your carpet as soon as it has been laid, after that develop the habit of regularly vacuuming your carpets. Regular cleaning will maintain your carpet for years. As with most things, there is a right and a wrong way to vacuum, make sure you adjust the height of your vacuum cleaner per room and do not let the vacuum bag get too full.
2. Avoid moving heavy furniture.
Heavy, bulky furniture can cause serious damage to your carpet. This does depend on how you arrange the space you have to work within your home, however, if possible avoid dragging heavy furniture over your carpets. All furniture will leave a mark on your carpet, however, if you regularly drag particularly bulky furniture over your carpets you will end up crushing the carpet piles. Also, try and avoid placing furniture with sharp edges over your carpets. All furniture will leave a spot and a mark on your carpets, however, sharp legs or edges may end up tearing through the fibers and reaching the underlay. If possible pick furniture with flat edges and as difficult as that is try lifting it not dragging it across your delicate carpeted floors.
3. Attempt to remove marks.
As we mentioned, all furniture will leave marks on top of your carpets. Regardless of whether you have redecorated your home, if you have simply rearranged your furniture or not, you should try to eliminate the furniture spots in your carpet. To do so you can simply loosen the carpet fibers with your hands and vacuum them thoroughly. However, that may not always work. The best option for removing furniture dents from your carpets is professional carpet cleaning. Carpet steam cleaning carried out by a reliable cleaning company will eliminate furniture marks from your carpet.
4. Immediately deal with spills.
Spills will turn into stains, if stains are left in your carpet for too long they become impossible to remove, even for professional carpet cleaning specialists. If you spill anything on your carpet do not leave it, try and soak it up immediately. Use a lightly damp cloth, or a piece of kitchen roll to try and gently soak the stain up, do not scrub it and, do not brush it, and do not agitate it. Any agitation will set the stain into your carpet. Whatever you do, do not use a brush with heavy bristles, you can tear the carpet fibers and your stain can turn into damage. The best way to deal with spills and stains is professional carpet steam cleaning provided by a cleaning company. If you leave stains too long on your carpet they become permanent, therefore, if you are not able to remove stains yourself contact a professional cleaning company as soon as you can and schedule a professional carpet cleaning service.
5. Avoid direct sunlight exposure.
This is an often neglected part of the carpet care and carpet cleaning routine you should develop. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight will, over time, fade the color of your carpet. If your living room or bedroom carpet is going to be exposed to direct sunlight for prolonged periods consider blinds. Put the blinds down during particularly sunny periods of the day.
6. Clean up accidents immediately.
You have been very thorough and have taken great care to protect, preserve and clean your carpets, but you have pets. Accidents will occur it's almost inevitable, given enough time. Urine is particularly damaging to carpet fibers. With time it not only sets as a stain but also has a particularly unpleasant smell. If your pet has had an accident on your carpet cleaning it up immediately. Firstly, soak up the stain with a lightly damp paper towel, go white plain white, any color from the paper can bleed into your carpet. Be firm and remove as much urine as possible from your carpet. After removing as much moisture as you can, mix a bit of dishwashing liquid with warm water and clean your carpet. Do not scrub, do not brush, use a firm soaking motion, you're attempting to saturate, dissolve the stain and extract it. If your beloved pet has had an accident and you do not wish to risk it the best thing you can do is to schedule a carpet cleaning service as soon as you can.
7. Shoes and boots off.
We know it does seem a bit...pedantic, but asking your guests and insisting that they take their shoes off does work, especially for heavy traffic areas. As we mentioned about 80% of soiling that will eventually find its way onto your carpet will be dust and dirt particles. You can avoid particularly heavy contamination if you simply take your shoes off inside the house. Make it law for everyone in your household to remove their shoes before walking on your carpets. Work boots and high heels are particularly horrible, they do not only track dirt inside your home but can damage your carpets. To be perfectly fair, slippers aren't much better but at the very least they have not been worn outside, and will not track dirt and soiling onto your carpet fibers.
8. Place barrier mats.
All floor coverings will get dirty and all of them require care and cleaning, carpet, however, is particularly difficult. It is always a good idea to place barrier mats over heavy traffic areas and in especially sensitive areas. If your carpet is close to your kitchen, there is a risk of an oil spill, hallways and entranceways are also susceptible to heavy soiling. If you have an external terrace to your living room consider placing a moisture-absorbent mat. All of these spaces will be protected by barrier mats, you can use a regular welcome mat, pick a visually appealing one, moisture-absorbing mats, or even an offcut of your carpet. Place little mats around those areas and doorways, even over heavy furniture to protect your carpet. Keeping a doormat (or a few) inside is a good idea.
9. Deal with snags.
If you discover a sticking snag in your carpet do not pull it, pulling on it will cause a bigger problem, it will damage the weave of your carpet and the damaged area will become more obvious. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut the carpet snag instead, tuck whatever ends may be left into the surrounding carpet area. Find the place where the yarn is still attached to the underlay, cut the snag and tuck the ends back into the carpet fibers.
10. Choose professional carpet cleaning.
The best and frankly easiest step you can take in ultimately protecting, preserving, and caring for your carpet is using a professional carpet cleaning service provided by a reliable cleaning company. Carpet cleaning is important, without the specialized equipment, detergents, and experience a fully equipped carpet cleaning technician has it will be ultimately impossible for you to achieve the same carpet cleaning results on your own. We recommend steam cleaning your carpets once every 3 to 6 months. A carpet cleaning service provided by a professional cleaning company will not only clean your carpets but also sanitize and disinfect them. There is no better way to deal with stains or heavy soiling in high-traffic areas than a carpet steam cleaning service. To make sure your carpet is looked after as best as possible you can choose to use a professional cleaning company and schedule a carpet cleaning service.
