If you want to turn your house into a beautiful and gorgeous home, then deck all the floors with carpets.
We hope you agree!
Even if you don't, you should at least agree with us that carpets add certain luxury and elegance to your home. Not only do they provide warmth during cold times of the year but also give you comfort to walk barefoot.
Beautiful carpets give you cozy feeling to sit next to a fireplace, read a book, play with your kids and more. But carpeted floors come with lots of 'hard' work. Their maintenance is necessary, and it is more than just vacuum runs.
There are numerous types of stains stuck on carpets. But the good thing is, if you know how to keep all sorts of carpet stains away, then you can easily remove any tough or stubborn blemish before it creates a mess and might even save you a dime in terms of the money you are going to spend on dry cleaning your carpet.
There are many methods and products available to remove the stains from the carpet. But what if we prevent carpet stains before they even happen?
In this article, we'll share some known and hidden tricks with you to keep your carpets stain-free.
11 useful tips to prevent carpet stains
1. Avoid walking with shoes
You knew this would come first!
Naturally, one of the most common stains we see on the carpet is carried by our shoes. Shoes pick up thousands of dirt and mud particles from outside, and you can prevent your carpet from these stains.
For started, just don't walk with shoes on your carpets.
If possible, apply a no-shoe rule in your home. If you can't force someone to remove their shoes, just place a doormat both inside and outside your home. Ask everyone to clean their shoes on the mat before walking on the carpet.
In case you cannot apply the no shoes rule it's better to make a walking path of an old bed sheet or a light weight rug or even a big foot mat to ensure shoes do not leave any imprints on your carpet.
2. Keep food and drink away
Arguably, the second the most common stains in carpets are from foods and drinks.
If you ever used a carpet, then you already know that food and wine spills are the hardest to get out. To keep your carpets in its best form, it is necessary to keep all the food and drinks in the kitchen or in the dining room only. Everyone should follow this rule to keep the carpet clean and always new!
If you are thinking of hosting a party, it's better to serve snacks and drinks outside rather than serving in the living room. More stains will lead to more aggressive cleaning on your end which also lowers the life span of your carpet.
3. Regular vacuuming is necessary
This may sound like a broken record but honestly, running a vacuum over the carpet is essential as it will help removing the bacteria to an extent.
As we all know, carpets are the key to the accumulation of dirt and germs. Therefore sufficient vacuuming is vital to prevent build-up of dust and bacteria in the carpet. So if you are thinking of carpet cleaning, then vacuuming is one of the best ways because it brings instant shine to the carpets.
In case vacuuming is not possible for you on a daily or weekly basis, then it is necessary to involve an experienced carpet cleaning company at least once in three months. This will ensure a disease free and clean home for you and your kids.
How to vacuum your carpets properly?
4. Avoid direct sunlight on the carpet
Did you know that sun rays can severely damage your carpets?
The ultraviolet rays from the sun directly affect the carpet. It's better to avoid opening the windows on a hot sunny day. Prolonged exposure to sunlight causes discoloration of the carpet. Therefore to keep your carpet safe keep it away from direct sunlight because natural sunlight is the most significant contributor to carpet fading.
5. Keep every spillage item away from the carpet
If you are using any lipstick, nail polish, paint or anything that can cause a stain, then it's better to keep them away from your carpet
If possible, try to do your makeup in the bathroom. Tell your kids to do their drawings in a corner. These stains are very tough to remove. So it's better to take precautions rather than cleaning it the whole day.
Nail paint and other liquid spillages will surely have a long lasting and negative effect for your carpet.
6. Clean the spills as soon as possible
One of the major reasons people have dirty carpets is that we never clean the spills at the time it happens.
If the stain stays for a more extended period on the carpet, then it is challenging to clean. It will be a lot easier for you if you clean the stain immediately. In this way, the stain will not go deep in the fibres and make your work easier. It is best to avoid spills however if still they occur you need to clean it then and there.
7. Clean the floor
It is necessary to clean the floor before you put the carpet on it.
Floors have too much of dirt and to avoid the accumulation of that dirt and bacteria in your carpet, clean your floor thoroughly. You can rub the floor area with ice cubes to make it clean. Mopping the floor and making is dry before laying the carpet on the floor is the best thing to do.
8. Use carpet protectant
Use carpet protectants to avoid converting the spills into tough stains.
These protectants act like a protective layer on the carpet which helps the spills from soaking deep into the carpet's fibres. This will help you to wipe the spills from the carpet easily.
9. Stick to a regular deep cleaning schedule
The best way to prevent your carpet from getting dirty is to set a schedule to clean it.
Vacuuming and washing of your carpet once in a while is essential. Do not skip your cleaning schedule. For carpet cleaning, make sure to vacuum it at least once in a week. Apart from that explore the options of carpet steam cleaning for your carpets for a hygienic and stain free carpet.
We understand that's a lot of work, but it's essential.
10. Rearrange your furniture
It would be best if you rearrange your furniture every few months to avoid the damage caused by the weight.
It's common that tables, couches and chairs which have their base/legs on the carpet creating an area that looks like damaged if not checked for a long time. It is crucial to rotate your furniture to increase your carpet's lifespan and prevent it from any wear and tear.
Even if you can't do this on a quarterly basis, try to do this at least once a year.
8 good reasons to rearrange your furniture
11. Clean the source of dust
Sometimes carpets become dirty because of other sources. So it's better to keep heavy usage areas such as stairs, entryways, hallways, etc. always clean. These areas are the major sources of bringing dust and impurities inside the home.
Simply, clean these areas regularly to keep your carpet clean.
11 practical tips to remove carpet stains
The tips mentioned above are to prevent stains from the carpet. But as we all know no matter how much we try to keep our carpet clean, it will become dirty over the time. So here are some tips on how to remove stains from your carpet:
1. Use the iron
If you spill something on your beautiful carpet, don't worry, just follow some steps.
Vacuum the stained area to remove hard particles. Then treat the spot with a mixture of water and vinegar and leave it for five minutes. After that, place a towel on the stained area and apply a heated iron. The stain will be transferred into the towel due to heat and pressure.
This is the simplest trick you can do in case you want to remove a stain within a short span of time without any specialized products available at your disposal.
The best thing is, this work in most cases.
2. Steam cleaning
Although the previous trick works for lightweight stains, it's not easy to clean the stains which accumulated deep inside the carpet's fibres.
For such cases, you need to apply a steam cleaning method. The carpet steam cleaning method is helpful to remove all the accumulated dirt, dust and debris deep down from the fibres.
3. Shaving creams
Carpets which are in light color such as white, yellow, pastel, etc. get dirty quickly. For cleaning your carpet rub shaving cream in the stain and leave it for a while. You will feel that your carpet becomes more soft, fluffy and clean. This is quite an unusual method however you need to make use of it to feel the effect of this method.
4. Baking soda (oil-based stains)
The most challenging things to get out of carpets are oil stains. As oil stains spread and stick to the fibres, it becomes very difficult to remove it.
To remove these stains sprinkle a coat of baking soda across the stained area and leave it for a while. When the sides become dry then run the vacuum on the residue to clear the stain.
Do not make excessive use of baking soda as it might damage the carpet in the long run.
5. Always blot
Always remember that rubbing leads to spreading. Blotting helps to clean the stain away. If the stain is coffee, tea, alcohol, pet urine, etc. do not rub it back and forth because it leads to the liquid being absorbed into the cloth.
6. Use a putty knife to remove solids
For cleaning the solids if you use a paper towel, it will only force the stain to get deeper into the fibers. So, it is best to use a putty knife to scrape the solids.
You can also use a dustpan to carry the solid waste which is scrapped with the putty knife.
7. Ice cubes (for gummy things)
If chewing gum gets stuck on your carpet, it is the most challenging thing to get rid of.
To remove the sticky mess from your carpet, place an ice cube on the gum for five to ten minutes. Once the gum is hardened, it will lose the grip on the fibers. You can easily scrape it off from the carpet.
8. Cut out burns mark
Instead of replacing your carpet with a new one, use a cookie cutter to remove the burned or damaged spot. You can replace it with a patch from under the sofa or your closet.
This is a very easy and affordable technique.
9. Do not walk on the carpet until it is dry
If you clean your carpet to remove all the dirt, then leave it for some hours so that it will completely dries. Make sure no one walks on the wet carpet. This will make it dirtier.
You can also use a hairdryer to make the process quick. A wet or moist carpet has higher chances of getting dirtier and catching dirt particles as compared to a dry carpet.
10. Rent carpet cleaning equipment
You can easily rent a carpet cleaning equipment to remove all the stubborn stains or accumulated dirt from your carpet. Do not wait to rent the equipment until your carpet becomes really dirty.
Use it as per your requirements make it clean and new.
DIY carpet cleaning tips on a budget
11. Call the professionals (the last resort)
In some rare cases, no matter how much you scrub your carpet, you can't get rid of all the tough stains and dirt. So the last resort would be to hire a professional carpet cleaners.
It's costly, but it's the smarter move than ruining your carpet going DIY.
These experts have the right equipment and know proper techniques to remove all the dirt and impurities from your carpet without any damage.
Wrapping up
A clean carpet is the key to maintain a healthy environment inside your house. So, preventing and removing carpet stains is essential to make them last for a longer period of time.
We've shared a long list of tips and a couple of unique tricks to keep your carpet clean and increase its longevity. Hope you've found something useful from this article.
However, like we've mentioned before, if you cannot spare time to clean your carpets you can also hire a professional team to restore your carpets' shine and look. If you're living in a city you'll find many local carpet cleaning service providers with different costing.
Choose wisely before hiring them.
Featured image: Girl photo created by ArthurHidden - www.freepik.comKelly Gale is a seasoned professional cleaner associated with 365 Cleaners. Kelly brings in years of experience to 365 cleaners in terms of - end of lease cleaning, bond cleaning and carpet cleaning. She has been responsible for making 365 cleaners the best carpet steam cleaning Lower Plenty. Kelly loves travelling and in her free time, enjoys writing and reading.
