How I Clean My Carpet
How often do you think that I need to clean my carpet? Not often I’m sure.
The thought of a carpet being dirty often escapes our mind and sight because there is no visual proof of the same. But the reality can be different from what you think and perceive.
Carpets can easily be one of the dirtiest places in your home. They are like a sponge. All the dust, allergens, mites and everything that can potentially harm your health is soaked up by the carpets on your floor. So, not keeping up with the cleaning of your carpet can be riskier than you think.
Now, it’s not easy to tell if your carpet is dirty until it’s stained. But, why wait for a stain to start cleaning? If you own a carpet, the cleaning duties lie on your shoulder by default.
So, here are a few tips that you can use regularly to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of your carpet with the best carpet cleaners
Regular Vacuuming to Clean My Carpet
A carpet is a huge chunk of tiny fibres. These fibres can soak the tiniest specks of dust and hold onto it forever. And this dust can sit on your carpet even if you live alone. This is why it is essential that you regularly vacuum your carpets to avoid the dust, dander and allergens from embedding deep into the fibres.
Your vacuuming schedule will highly depend on your lifestyle. Essentially, it is advised to vacuum at least twice a week. But, if you have toddlers or pets jumping around, it is best to vacuum every day to keep the top layer of your carpet clean.
Now, it’s important to take some time to choose the best vacuum cleaner for your household. It should have the right suction and rollers as per the lengths of the fibres. And once you have a vacuum for yourself, make sure to clean the filters regularly and also make sure to use it slowly over the carpet to get the most dust and dirt out of it.
Take Immediate Action on Spills
If you have a carpet in your dining area or living room, you probably are no stranger to spills. They are dreadful for someone who pays extra attention to the appearance of their home.
Well, when such accidents happen, you don’t have the time to worry. Remember to take immediate action and do not let the spilt substance sit on the carpet. It gets harder to clean a stain once it is dry. And once it is soaked up by the fibres of the carpet, it can often result in fungus or a smelly area.
The best thing to do is use paper towels to soak up as much of the spilt substance as possible and then dab the stain using an all-purpose carpet cleaner. Make sure to try it on a small patch of the carpet before putting it to use.
While an all-purpose cleaner helps for emergency situations, it’s best to learn about specific cleaning methods if you have an expensive carpet. You can research online about how to deal with coffee or wine stains on a carpet or use cleaning agents meant for specific stains.
Avoid Shoes on Carpet
The biggest enemy of carpets is exposure to dust and your shoes are the primary carriers of dust. So, the best way to keep your carpet from attracting dust is by having dust mats on every entry. It will take off most of the dirt and dust from the shoes.
However, the dirt always clings on to the shoes so a better idea than dust mats would be to leave your shoes at the door. It will avoid the tiny specks of dust, allergens and everything else that your shoes carry from flying around the house and ultimately settling on the carpet. The shoe-off rule around your carpet can also help in increasing its longevity. The fewer shoes on the carpet, the lesser will be the wear and tear.
You can also keep the dust off by keeping the windows closed especially if you live in an area where there’s construction nearby or a lot of commotion.
Take Preventive Measures
If you have spent a large chunk of your savings in buying a beautiful carpet for your house, you must get the worth of your money. It’s possible only when you take the pains of maintaining it and ensuring that it stays a part of your house for years.
Start taking some preventive measures to ensure that your carpet has a long life. For starters, keep it away from direct sunlight. The fibres can become weak and eventually fade out if exposed to direct sunlight.
If you have pets or a lot of people around the house always, go for the no-shoe policy we discussed above and make sure to wipe your pet’s paws before they enter the house. The best option in such cases would be to think ahead and buy a carpet as per your lifestyle and the number of traffic in your house.
For instance, long fibres are dust magnets. They might be ideal for a small family. If you have pets or a big family, go for small fibres as they are easy to clean and don’t attract a lot of dust.