Soft, warm, and elegant — a lot of people prefer to have carpets for their flooring. Nevertheless, there are still others who dislike having carpets because they think that carpet cleaning will involve a lot of hard work and maintenance. Your carpet will ultimately become a victim of drops, accidents, spills and whatever that is on the bottom of those shoes regardless of your efforts.
While some consider hiring professional carpet cleaners, others decide to do it themselves. To do the latter, there are a number of things to keep in mind. To help you out, here are 10 carpet cleaning tips from pros.
- Blot Stains, Don’t Rub Them
Source: Thinkstock/DragonImages
Dab carpet stains with a sponge, paper towel, or clean cloth while using a good cleaning solution. The most important thing here is blotting. Blotting normally puts less pressure on the stains to be soaked up. Rubbing causes dust particles to be grounded into carpet fibers which can lead to premature breakdown of the fibers. Always ensure that you’re blotting from outside of the stains inward because blotting outwards can spread the stains further.
- Club Soda Process
Blot the area using club soda on a cloth. If it doesn’t work, use a solution of water and vinegar in a handheld squirter. You should spray the whole stained area with the solution and leave it for 10 or 15 minutes to let it soak in. Press a sponge onto the affected area in order to soak up this solution as well as the stain. You might have to repeat the process a couple times.
Rinse the dirty spot using warm water when the stain is removed. Using your hands, brush carpet strands following their natural direction then put a white paper towel over the area and add some extra weight on top to help absorb the moisture. Do not remove the towel until the carpet is dry.
- Try Using Shaving Cream
Believe it or not, the most widely-used carpet cleaning product for general stains is ordinary shaving cream! It actually can remove almost all types of stains. Apply shaving cream directly onto the stain and leave it for close to 30 minutes. After the cream has set, remove it using a dry cloth before spraying this area with a solution of vinegar and water. Then simply wipe it away using a cloth.
- Freeze-Dried Gum
In order to remove chewing gum from your carpet, you’ll need to get some ice cubes and freeze the dried-up bugger for 30 seconds. When the gum becomes frozen solid, lift the glob using a spoon and cut the carpet strands that are as close as possible to the gum. Cutting a small piece of the carpet won’t be too easily noticeable.
- Dishwasher Detergents vs. Grease
Using one or two drops of grease-cutting dishwashing detergents inside a cup is a great method of removing difficult-to-clean grease stains. It will clean the grease inside the carpet just as it normally does on dishes. Put this solution in a spray bottle and spray the stain. For larger stains, you might be required to do this several times.
- Heat Wax
Burning candles can result in wax dripping on your carpet, drying up, becoming embedded, and creating a painful carpet cleaning duty. In that case, you’ll need to wrap a cloth around your iron and place it on top of the wax to warm it up. Now you can scrape the wax off using a butter knife. When you’re done, be sure to lay a towel over the area and iron over the towel. This makes the wax melt and bind on paper. A few applications should get rid of the candle wax. Just be sure not to use your iron longer than 30 seconds or you’ll risk burning your carpet!
- Hydrogen Peroxide to the Rescue
Source: Thinkstock/Digital Vision
A few drops of blood on your carpet because you cut your finger does not have to mean your shag is now garbage! First, you need to loosen the dried blood up using water and a little detergent and scrape off the blood from the carpet fibers. In order to remove the remainder, simply apply hydrogen peroxide on the stain. Hydrogen peroxide foams immediately when it comes into contact with blood, so don’t be surprised when you start seeing bubbles. Dab the hydrogen peroxide out with a towel to dry your carpet.
- Clean Pet Accidents Organically
Even the most well-trained pets can have accidents on the carpet. Organic carpet cleaning products are preferable for cleaning rather than chemicals. Spray an organic cleaner at the stain and dab. The organic cleaner needs to be wiped away only with a cloth or a towel. Eco-Spot and other similar products can also be helpful with other types of stains such as coffee and sauces.
- Candy Crushed
It may be a fun game to play on your phone but not so much on your carpet. Try to remove candy using a spotter brush or again even a butter knife. Thereafter, use a sponge to apply water mixed with a little soap. It’s very crucial to remove all the sugar from the carpet. By not removing the sugar, the area can and will attract dirt and debris very easily. Dry this spot with some simple blotting and use a cloth or towel once you have removed the candy.
- Deep-Clean Regularly
The best way to avoid heavy carpet cleaning jobs is consistent upkeep of maintenance. Steam cleaning involves cleaning the carpet by injecting a solution under deep pressure into your carpet through water-jet nozzles. The machine removes the solution together along with the debris and dirt found on the carpet. Water enters the fibers down at their root and loosens any embedded soil, easily removing grease and oil deposits. It is advisable that you do a deep cleaning method such as this every six months regardless of the size of your household.
Featured Image Source: Thinkstock/Jupiterimages
Posted on May 18, 2023