Carpet Cleaning: What You Need to Know First
Are you in need of a house carpet cleaning service? Spots or dingy tracks through your carpet may leave you feeling like your whole house needs to be scrubbed from the ceilings to the carpets.
If you’re hoping to give your floors a facelift, there are a few things you should know first.
Important Carpet Maintenance Tips
What kinds of things can you do to extend the life of your carpet? With regular care, you can keep your carpet looking like new. Carpet in your home is an investment, so here’s how you can protect it :
- You should vacuum your carpet once per week and even more frequently in high-traffic areas of your home.
- Take time to thoroughly vacuum your carpet; it’s not a race. You should go over each section of the carpet a few times to ensure you’ve removed as much dirt as possible.
- Soil retardants can be sprayed on new carpet or freshly cleaned carpet to help prevent dirt from settling.
- Remove your shoes before walking on the carpet.
- Schedule a professional carpet cleaning once a year .
How to Get Spots Out of Carpet at Home
Stains and spills are an unavoidable part of life; they just happen sometimes. We do our best to prevent a mess, but muddy footprints or a spilled glass of wine tend to happen no matter what we do.
When stains happen, how do we get them out? Regular vacuuming can extend the life of your carpet and keep it from looking too dirty, but if you’re dealing with a stain, you’ll need a little more elbow grease and the right tools.
For most carpet stains, you can use this simple method , which works on everything from wine spills and pet accidents to muddy footprints:
- Take two separate, empty spray bottles and fill one with cold water. In the other, mix one-fourth of a teaspoon of mild dishwashing soap with one cup of warm water.
- Spray the soapy water on a clean cloth—not on the carpet itself. You want to be able to clean the mess, but you don’t want to get the carpet too wet. Dab the moistened cloth on the stain (but don’t rub it). As the stain begins to resolve, blot away the moisture with a dry section of your cleaning cloth. Keep repeating this dabbing and blotting procedure until the stain goes away.
- Spray a second cloth with water only, and use it to dab away the detergent solution from the carpet, blotting away moisture with a dry cloth.
- Lay a stack of paper towels on top of the damp area and place a heavy pot or pan on top. Leave it there overnight to press out any additional moisture.
- Fluff up the carpet fibers with your fingers in the morning, and allow the carpet to finish air drying.
How to Remove Coffee Spots from Carpet
The second a coffee cup gets knocked over or flies out of your hands, there’s that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach: Will the coffee spot ever come out of the carpet? Here’s how to tackle those coffee spills right the first time.
- Just like a coffee spot on your clothes, the faster you get to it, the more successful you’ll be at removing the spot completely. As quickly as you can, blot—don’t rub—away the coffee with paper towels or a clean cloth.
- Then pour a small amount of water on the stained area to dilute it.
- Mix a solution of one cup of hydrogen peroxide with half a teaspoon of dish soap in a bowl, and dab the cleaning solution on the stain using a sponge or a white or light-colored towel. Let the solution sit for 1-5 minutes
- Use a clean towel to blot away the cleaning solution, and use a water-dampened cloth to remove any remaining cleaning solution. Let dry just like you would for any other spot.
You may want to test a small, inconspicuous section of your carpet first to make sure that the peroxide won’t discolor your carpet. If you’ve spilled a cup of coffee with cream, you may want to use an enzymatic cleaner to break down the protein in the cream.
How to Remove Old Spots From Carpet
Did you find an old spot under the coffee table or maybe a spot on the carpet when you moved into your new home? Have no fear, you can still remove set-in stains with the right techniques—of which you have a few options .
- Spray a solution of two cups of water, one tablespoon of dish soap and one tablespoon of white vinegar on a clean cloth, then dab away the stain working from the outside of the spot towards the middle. Then blot away the moisture with a dry, clean cloth. Use a spray bottle of water to wash away the cleaning solution, and dab the moisture away.
- Sprinkle baking soda atop the spot, and let it absorb for several minutes. Then you can either vacuum away the baking soda or leave it there. Next, combine equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle, and spray the spot (and the baking soda). Let it sit for several hours. Carefully scrub the vinegar/baking soda paste to loosen it, and vacuum it all up.
Let the Professionals Take Care of It
Do you have lots of set-in spots or heavy traffic patterns that need to be removed? Maybe it’s time you let the professionals handle the house carpet cleaning.
If you’re in need of residential carpet cleaning, let Cimara Cleaning Services handle it for you. We know that even if the rest of your house is clean, if your carpets are dirty, it still feels like there’s more cleaning to do.
This is why we have perfected the art of professional carpet cleaning. Other companies place unnecessary wear and tear on your carpet with their harsh steam cleaning and dry cleaning methods, but at Cimara Cleaning, we offer a gentler water extraction method , which not only is better for your carpet but is more effective too. We pump water deep into the fibers of your carpet to loosen all the dirt and grime so your carpets end up looking their very best.
Can we take your carpets from “good” to “great?” Our team of highly trained, insured and bonded technicians is ready to give your home’s carpet the cleaning it deserves. Listen to our very happy customers , and request an online estimate today.
