5 Simple Ways to Keep Your Carpets Cleaner for Longer!
So you’ve just had your carpets cleaned and are no doubt wondering how best to keep them in pristine condition? Here are some easy tips that will help you maintain your carpets until their next professional clean!
1. Get Vacuuming!
The most important thing you can do for your carpets is to keep up a regular vacuuming schedule. Most soil in household carpets is dry soil. If this soil isn’t removed frequently enough it can become compacted at the base of the pile, cause matting, contribute to wear through soil abrasion and turn into an all-round general eye-sore and health hazard! We recommend that carpets are vacuumed twice a week with a decent quality upright vacuum cleaner. Ideally, the vacuum will have a ‘beater bar’ at the bottom to lift the pile as it cleans and thus remove more soil. ‘Cylinder’ or ‘tub’ vacuums are generally less effective at removing soil as they tend to skim over the top only picking up visible ‘crumbs’, although some models can be fitted with brush head attachments which you’ll definitely require if pet hair is a recurring problem. With your vacuum try to pull slowly back against the pile direction (if there is one) and work methodically across the carpet.
2. Stop Soil at The Door!
With a good quality, absorbent ‘entrance’ or ‘barrier’ mat you can trap most shoe-carried soil before it gets trodden throughout the house! We particularly like microfibre mats as they will absorb wet soil and are machine washable.
3. Shoes Off!
It’s a no-brainer really! But you’d be surprised how many people enforce a strict no-shoes policy in their home for a few weeks following a clean and then fall back into old habits! ‘No shoes in the house’ will spare your carpets from excessive wear and soiling and is a great, simple way to keep them cleaner for longer. Wearing socks on some carpet types can cause one problem however – the dreaded sock-fluff! If you notice little black or blue bobbles appearing on the tips of your carpet fibres (usually surrounding beds or in front of sofas) we would strongly recommend you opt to wear slippers in the house as heavy sock lint can be quite troublesome to completely remove as it becomes intertwined with the pile fibre.
4. Try a Bit of Feng Shui!
OK, not literally (unless you want to!) but re-configuring your furniture layout every so often is good for your carpets as it will help prevent the formation of traffic lanes and excessive wear. You’ll also find that furniture indentation marks will be less severe as well because the carpet backing and underlay will be given some respite. We would recommend the use of furniture sliders to prevent a pulled back or distortion of the carpet pile when moving large items.
5. Spills – Time is of The Essence!
Spills happen. It’s a fact of life – but the most important thing is that they’re treated in a timely and correct manner. Some common stains like tea, coffee or urine usually require treatment ASAP before they’re allowed to ‘set’. The best advice is to blot up as much as you can with a clean cloth or towel and either attempt treatment yourself with suitable products on a small area to see if there is any improvement. If not, it’s probably time to call in for a professional assessment.
Providing these 5 simple tips are followed you will be doing the best you can to maintain your carpets between cleans. Not only will you greatly extend the lifespan of your carpets, you’ll be able to enjoy much cleaner, healthier carpets all year-round! For more information about our domestic carpet cleaning service Click Here.