It seems that spills and stains happen at the most inconvenient times, like when you are late for work. I have found that there are some quick steps you can take to make sure that your carpet does not become a spotty mess forever.

The first thing you want to do is to quickly throw a rag or a paper towel on the spill. You can push down gently on the spill, making sure to never use a rubbing motion. Once you have done as much as you can do, place a clean towel or paper towel over the spot and place something heavy on it, like a book. This will allow enough pressure to be put on the spot so that the rest of the mess will be soaked up while you go to work.

When you come home, you will want to use cold water and your favorite carpet cleaning solution for spot treatments. Make sure that you are following the directions clearly. For tough stains, you may have to do this a couple of times. As long as you stick with it, you will find that the stain will be removed and your carpet will be as good as new. Do be sure to never use hot water when trying to remove the stain because that is one sure way to make sure that the stain sets.

As I have found and you will soon see, caring for your carpet is not all that hard once you know the right steps to take.

You might think that your carpet looks clean, but is it really? The thing I have learned is that most of the nasty stuff, such as dust mite feces, is so tiny that you’ll never actually see it. Just imagine the size of the dust mites themselves. You could fit thousands of them on one fingernail. Now imagine how small their feces must be and now imagine it being all over your carpets.

So, is vacuuming once in a blue moon good enough? Hardly. You have to make sure that you are not just vacuuming every day but that you are vacuuming in the correct manner. Make sure that you are covering every inch of carpet and that you are running the vacuum in many various directions in order to make sure that you are really covering those carpet fibers.

Additionally, it is important to make sure that your carpet is cleaned well with a hot water system at least every six months. You want to make sure that you do not do it anymore than every three months as this could cause damage to the padding under your carpet and the glue that holds your carpet fibers together.

If you do not already do this, you might want to consider calling in a professional carpet cleaning service at least once a year. For those who can afford the extra expense, have them come out twice a year. If you watch for advertised specials, you should be able to get some good deals.

It is important to make sure that your carpet is kept as clean as possible between major cleanings. Whether you call in a professional service every six months or you rent a carpet cleaner yourself, it is important to make sure that the carpet is being well cared for in the meantime.

You want to make sure that you run the upright vacuum every day. In extremely high traffic areas, you might want to run the vacuum a couple times a day. Every few days you want to make sure that you get out the vacuum attachments and get in close to the baseboards.

For small spills of cereal and other tiny messes, having a hand held vacuum ensures that you can quickly and easily take care of the mess before it becomes a serious problem.

It also would not hurt to go out and look into purchasing a small carpet shampooing machine. These normally do not cost all that much more than a regular vacuum and they really come in handy when you are trying to make sure that your carpet stays as clean and well kept for as long as possible.

Just imagine if you did not take all of these steps. Within just a matter of a few months or a year, all of your carpet could be completely destroyed. Since the purchase and installation of new carpet would cost you thousands of dollars, it is important to make sure that you avoid having to go through that. The more time you put into cleaning your carpet, the longer it will last and the more money you will save in the end.

Many people have asked this question. I used to be so busy that I would only clean the carpet when it really started to look bad. After all, if you cannot see anything on the carpet, it is clean, right? The thing is though, even if you cannot see anything, there is still dirt, dander, cat hair, dog hair and anything else in the world in your carpets.

To properly care for your carpet, you want to make sure that you are vacuuming every day. For those who are busy or really do not spend that much time at home, vacuuming two or three times a week can be good enough, as long as there is not a lot of dirt building up. Then you also have to make sure that you spot clean the carpet every time something spills. This will ensure that the carpet does not stain and that it lasts longer.

You should use a steam cleaner or a foam cleaner every couple of months. For those with a lot of traffic in the house or small children that love to make a mess, you might want to consider cleaning the carpet a little more often.

Of course, there is such a thing as over cleaning the carpet. For example, you do not want to spend eight hours a day vacuuming and you do not want to steam clean the carpet every day. Sometimes, there is such a thing as too clean because in this case, your carpet and the padding underneath can become ruined.