Carpets in your home add a touch of luxury and softness underfoot that helps create a comfortable atmosphere that is unrivalled when wanting to create that homely and warm feel to impress your family and friends.
However, carpets can be difficult to maintain if you don’t keep them on top of their maintenance as they easily attract dirt, especially in higher-traffic areas around the house like living rooms and hallways. With that in mind, our cleaning experts have created this helpful guide full of amazing carpet cleaning tips to keep them looking their very best!
How to remove stains from carpet
You’re sat watching the TV with a cup of tea and disaster strikes: you knock it off the sofa or table and it spills onto your lovely carpet. Don’t panic, and don’t succumb to the urge of rubbing the spill. While rubbing does indeed remove stains from certain materials, doing this on your carpet will result in the stain spreading to a bigger area, requiring more in-depth cleaning.
Instead, blot the spill with a soft white cloth or plain white kitchen towel. Blotting in this way allows the liquid to be absorbed by the cloth, removing more and more of it as you keep applying the pressure to the affected area. Pay close attention to the direction of your blotting too – work from the outer part of the stain inwards to reduce the chances of any extra spread.
How to shampoo carpet
Shampooing a carpet is a great way to get a deeper clean than by just vacuuming by itself, but it certainly isn’t as easy as just getting the hoover out and whipping it around the room.
There are several different methods you can use to shampoo your carpet and it’s important that you look at the pros and cons for each of them before committing. We’ve included some of the most used techniques below.
Shampoo sprays
We all know the big brands that sell carpet shampoo sprays, and they are available from most supermarkets and discount stores. They’re great for targeting specific spots on your carpet that may be soiled but are expensive and not cost-effective for larger areas.
Domestic cleaners
There are a variety of domestic carpet cleaners on the market that look similar to vacuums but work by shampooing your carpet and then drawing back the solution into the machine. It’s best to use these on warmer days when you can open windows to help dry your carpets quicker – leaving carpets with too much moisture in for too long
Professional cleaners
If you don’t feel confident in doing it yourself, then it might be wise to call in the professionals. Businesses like Crystal Cleaning Servicing offer a variety of carpet cleaning options to suit both domestic and commercial properties. Professional carpet cleaners will often have stronger machines than their domestic counterparts, meaning the drying time is reduced.
Carpet cleaning hacks
A life hack is defined as something that is meant to make everyday activities more efficient. With that in mind, our cleaning experts have put together a variety of fantastic hacks that can help make cleaning your carpet a breeze.
Time to invest in a squeegee
If you have a cat or dog you’ll know how difficult it is to stay on top of their hair shedding, and even the most powerful vacuum cleaners can struggle removing it. Thankfully, the humble shower squeegee could become your best friend.
The rubber “blade” is perfect at dislodging pet hair on carpets, pulling it into a neat roll that can easily be disposed of. Just wet the squeegee and then use as you would on a shower screen or window.
Bicarbonate of soda to the rescue
A miracle worker that is available from most supermarkets and discount stores, bicarbonate of soda can help absorb smells from pets, food and children, just by sprinkling a liberal amount over your carpet and leaving to settle for a couple of hours.
Once done, all you need to do is simply vacuum it away – repeat every couple of months to keep your carpet smelling, well, like carpet!
Top tip: If you love a particular scent, add 10 to 20 drops of your favourite essential oil to a box of baking soda and use as above. Lavender oil works well thanks to its calming properties.
Nail polish remover hack
It’s always difficult to determine whether any product applied to a carpet will bleach it, so if you’re in doubt, test on an inconspicuous area first to make sure your carpet can take it. If you are one of the thousands of people who accidentally spill nail polish on the carpet each year, do we have the hack for you.
- First off, wait for the nail polish to dry – don’t try to remove it while it’s still wet
- Using a blunt tool (something like a butter knife), chip away as much as you can
- Gently dab with a white cloth or kitchen towel that has been lightly soaked with nail polish remover until the polish has disappeared and absorbed into the cloth
You can also use rubbing alcohol as a substitute for nail polish remover, but again, check your carpet first before going for it.
Remove unsightly furniture marks
We have all been there: moving your furniture around for a fresh look and seeing unsightly furniture impressions on your carpets. It’s a minor annoyance but one that can be difficult to get rid of – difficult that is unless you try this hack!
- Take an ice cube and place it on any of those furniture impressions
- Leave to melt
- Blot the excess water with kitchen paper
- Iron through a towel until completely dry
- The carpet will then be easy to fluff by hand
Ice vs gum
Ice is not only brilliant at fluffing up carpets, it can also be used to remove the dreaded chewing gum from your flooring. Gum is notoriously difficult to remove from anything with fibres.
The issue comes when the gum is soft, as the more you try and remove it, the more it will embed itself within your carpet. The trick is to harden the gum with ice, just 30 seconds should be enough to cool it enough to scrape off with something as simple as a spoon. Job done!
There we have it – all the tips and tricks you need to keep your carpets looking clean, fresh and new for longer. Moving out soon? Take a look at our top tips for end of tenancy blog.
