Carpet cleaning is a pain, but it's necessary to keep floors looking fresh and beautiful. Kids, pets, and pizza night can easily bring disaster to your carpet, so many people are familiar with the need for quick carpet cleaning. Sometimes drips and spills can't be stopped, so use these three tips to prevent staining when you have an accident.
1. Water and White Vinegar
The first tip is to try and use water and white vinegar. It's the oldest trick in the book, but it's in the book for a reason. It works! After mixing one part vinegar to four parts water, wet a cloth with the mixture and scrub the affected area. It will smell like white vinegar while you're doing the carpet cleaning. But once your carpet dries, the scent will disappear and so will the stain!
2. Don't Use Soaps and Powders
The next trick for carpet cleaning at home is actually something that you shouldn't do. When carpet cleaning at home, you should be wary of power-based products and soap-based cleaners. These soapy products might make it look like they've taken care of the stain, but they don't. They are as difficult to rinse out of your carpet as the spill itself, and it just makes it worse. In a few weeks you'll probably find that the stain has made a triumphant return, bigger and uglier than before. Because they are so hard to rinse out, these power and soap products create a soapy residue that gathers dirt faster.
3. Use a Damp Cloth First: Blot then Clean
The third tip is to avoid rubbing in a fresh would-be stain or spreading it around with scrubbing. The more you scrub the possible stain into the carpet the harder it will be to get out. Plus, vigorous rubbing can move the liquid, dirt, or mess around so that it covers more of your carpet. Instead, when spills happen you should take a cloth and dab the affected area to remove as much as possible before cleaning further.
I hope these tips will help you clean up daily stains and messes that you come across with your carpet. However if you can't get your carpet clean or it's too stubborn of a stain, professionals are always available! For professional work, contact a skilled carpet cleaning company in your area.