10 tips for carpet care

Finally after a long wait and putting up with dark carpet that was laid in the 90’s we finally have new floor coverings throughout our home. However, now I am watching everyone who steps foot into the house like a hawk to make sure they don’t mess up our new floor coverings that I am so very proud of. Carpet is expensive after all and I want to get a good few years out of it. With that in mind, I have done some research on how to reduce the wear and tear.

1. Vacuum frequently and thoroughly. Most of the wear of carpeting is caused by dirt. Oily soils attract more oily soil and frequent vacuuming will reduce soil buildup.

2. Get at stains quickly, 99% of all stains can be removed by one cleaning agent or another if they are cleaned in the first few days. The longer a stain chemically reacts with the carpet the harder it will be to remove it.

3. Test carpet before scrubbing, extracting or spotting. All carpets are different. Some carpets are very sensitive to acid type cleaners and will lose their colour quickly. Other carpet dyes are sensitive to harsh alkalis.

4. Use appropriate spotters starting with the mildest. Do not use harsh spotting agents unless absolutely necessary and always neutralise high alkaline or high acid cleaners after use.

5. Never dig or brush spots. The proper procedure is to scrape the spot towards the middle and then tamp the spot into the white towel or cloth using a brush or other tamping devices. A meat tenderizer makes a great tamping tool.

6. Do not overuse detergents, shampoos or spotters. Too much detergent will result in residual left in the carpet that even thorough vacuuming may not remove.

7. Do not overwet carpet. Our carpet detergents are chemically active enough so they do not need a tremendous amount of wetting. Over-wetting can cause brownout, carpet shrinkage, adhesion problems and all other kinds of nightmares.

8. Extract residual if possible. Rotary scrubbing will clean the carpet fibres the best by encapsulating dirt and detergent residue, which powders off the carpet. Periodic extraction will flush out this dirt and other organisms deep in the carpet.

9. Never “coat” a dirty or spotty carpet. After scrubbing or extracting a dirty carpet, if you are not satisfied with the results, do not apply a coat of carpet protector as this will result in “glueing in the dirt” making it harder to remove it the next time. Either re-scrub or extract the carpet or leave the carpet until the next cleaning cycle before you coat.

10. Vacuum frequently and thoroughly. It is so important it deserves two recommendations. Vacuum frequently and thoroughly. It is so important it deserves two recommendations.

Courtesy of Article Base