Carpet Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Carpets Beautiful
Your carpets represent a very significant investment, and keeping them clean and
new looking is an important part of enhancing the overall look and appeal of
your home. Taking proper care of them is absolutely essential to insuring they
will have a long and useful life. Here are some carpet cleaning tips to help you
retain the beauty and wearability of your carpets.
** Clean your carpets regularly
If you let dirt and oily residue collect on your carpet it will attract further
dirt, and walking on the dirty areas will break down both the carpet fibers and
the carpet base. It is best to frequently vacuum your carpets to remove as much
loose dirt as possible -- to get down into the fibers and pull the dirt out
before it becomes much more firmly embedded.
** Remove stains as quickly as possible
Stains are caused by oily liquids dropped on the carpet. The liquid residue
saturates areas of the fiber and leaves an ugly stain. Or they can result from
dirty shoes or boots in high traffic areas. It is important to remove stains as
quickly as possible because they become more difficult to remove when they are
allowed to dry and harden.
** Scrape dried soil
If soil or other kinds of dirt have been tracked into areas of your carpet, it
will probably be necessary to scrape some of the areas where they have dried
into small clumps. Use a blunt metal object to break up the dried spot and
loosen the dirt so it can be vacuumed.
** Test spotting agents and stain removers
Not all carpets are the same, and they react differently to different chemical
cleaners. Always be sure to test a spotting or stain removal agent before
applying it to a critical area. Apply it to a spot in a hidden area, and then
let the test dry properly before proceeding to the visible areas of your carpet.
** Follow instructions when using chemical cleaning agents
Do not use a harsh spotter or chemical cleaner without properly testing it, and
always begin with a less harsh spotting agent. If that does not work, move on to
something that is stronger.
Be sure to follow the instructions provided with the spotting agent. They will
usually include recommendations for application strength, and will give you some
idea of the kinds of stains they can be effectively used to remove.
Most strong spotters are either high acid or high alkaline based. After using
one of these, neutralize the area by applying a neutralizing agent as
recommended in the instructions. Or if it is not clear what neutralizing agent
to use, use water to rinse the area thoroughly.
** Minimize detergent residue
Whenever you use a detergent to clean your carpet you will probably leave a
detergent residue in the fibers. This residue can build up and actually attract
dirt and show up as powder within the fibers.
So it is important to remove as much of the detergent residue as possible. Often
vacuuming is not enough. You should occasionally use an extraction process that
uses rotary scrubbing so the fibers are thoroughly cleaned.
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