Carpet Care Between Professional Cleanings
Home ownership requires a whole lot of dedication and willingness to spend money on things you may not necessarily consider “fun.” If you’re like a lot of Americans, you probably vacuum your home relatively often to suck up pet fur, hair, dirt, and other particles before they get deeply inset into your carpet.
Just like most things in life, the better you care for your carpet, the better it will care for you and the longer it will last. Pairing your dedicated maintenance with a regular professional carpet cleaning routine can truly elongate the life and beauty of the flooring in your home.
Take care of spills immediately.
If someone spills something on your carpet, blot it immediately to keep it from soaking in too deep. The key word in that last sentence is blot. The second you start rubbing a stain, it will start to soak into the carpet and spread, and that’s exactly what you don’t want. If you act quickly, you should be able to soak up a lot of the liquid before it sets in. If you have a spot treatment, go ahead and use it as long as you’re sure it won’t damage your carpet. It’s wise to test it in a small, hidden area first to be sure. And once you’ve applied the stain remover, continue to dab – starting from the outside and working your way in. Clean and rinse the area with clean water on a rag several times, then set a towel over the area with something heavy on top to soak up any remaining moisture.
Clean your area rugs.
Check the care instructions on all your rugs and don’t forget them during your spring and fall cleaning sessions, and more often when necessary. It’s important to follow the specific cleaning instructions on each to avoid damage and fading. However, just like your regular carpet, these area rugs certainly trap a lot of dirt and debris and should be cleaned often too. As long as the cleaning instructions are clear, it’s A-O.K. for you to wash and care for those rugs often in between professional cleanings.
Vacuum! Vacuum!!
Vacuuming regularly is one of the most important ways to care for your carpet. The norm is to vacuum once per week. However, if you have pets or allergy sufferers in your home, it would be a good idea to increase that to a few times a week as part of your cleaning routine. It’s also a good idea to hit high-traffic areas often to help lengthen the life of your carpet, and suck up as much dirt as possible before it gets set too deep in the carpet. Once that happens, the dirt can actually cause the carpet to start deteriorating. Another thing to remember when vacuuming… Slow down! it’s a good idea to slow your roll when you’re vacuuming. Slower passes will mean more dirt gets extracted at a time and gives the suction time to really reach deep into the fibers.
Even someone who vacuums every day won’t be able to get the deep down clean a professional carpet cleaning company, like Whit Knight Carpet Rescue in Madison, can. So care for your carpets routinely, and let us take care of the rest.
