Carpet Cleaning Tips

How much time do you spend on the floor? How about your kids? Even if you do not have children and you do not spend a lot of time lying on your floors, do you ever walk across your carpet? Of course you do. So, when you walk across the carpets did you know that you could be kicking up all kinds of dirt and allergens, not to mention dust mites and dust mite feces?

If you are not tending to your carpet as you should  it will start to look rather dull. The good news is that even if you have neglected your carpet in the past, it is never too late to start new and better carpet care habits.

You can do some little things that will make a big impact on your carpet. With a little work and effort you can have your carpet looking new in no time at all and you won’t have to worry about so many dust mites and the feces that they leave everywhere.

It is important to make sure that a professional carpet cleaning company is called out to your home at least once a year, even if you shampoo your carpets on your own. The professional companies have machines and expertise that will have your carpets looking as new as the day they were installed. Of course, if your carpet is from the seventies, this may not be possible and it is simply time to replace and update your carpet.

One thing that I have noticed is when I am not using a HEPA filter vacuum, I can see an incredible amount of dust fly out of the vacuum and back onto my carpets. Of course, as I am walking around the house I am most likely breathing some of this dust in. One thing that I have recently learned is that not everything that is shooting out of the vacuum and into my lungs or back onto my carpet is dust.

There are dead dust mite bodies and dust mite feces by the thousands in my carpet. However, it is not just my carpet, it is your carpet too. There is not a home out there that has carpet and is dust mite free. It just does not happen. While no real harm will come from this problem, those with allergies or asthma may experience flare ups because of these little things.

In order to decrease your chances of breathing those things in or having them land back on your carpet, you want to make sure that you are using a HEPA filter and that you are vacuum on a regular basis. You also want to make sure that you have your carpets shampooed and cleaned with hot water at least every six months.

When you take great care of your carpet and vacuum on a regular basis, you will not have as many dust mite bodies and feces to deal with, even though there will always be a little bit that are present. It is also important to make sure that you are cleaning along the edge of the trim work and all over the carpeted steps because these little guys are literally on every piece of carpet you own.

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.

Your home should be a place of safety and comfort but those with allergies seem to find that they cannot even catch a break at home. This is because there are a lot of different allergens hiding out in your carpet, which can quickly and easily trigger attacks of your allergies and even asthma.

Believe it or not, about 80% of asthma and allergy attacks that are triggered by what is in your carpets is actually triggered by dust mite feces. Gross, I know. It took me a while to convince myself to walk in my bare feet on my carpet. But I mean, I have a clean house so can I really have dust mite feces all over the place? I did a little research and it turns out yes, this is a real problem that many people have in their homes, even if their homes are super clean.

So how do you get this dust mite problem under control? The first thing is to make sure that you vacuum with a HEPA filter so that all of the microscopic allergens that you pick up are not sent back out into the air. You also want to make sure to use a hot water extraction cleaner on your carpets at least every six months. This is a great way to make sure that your carpets are as clean as possible.

If you do your best to clean your carpets properly and as often as possible you should find that your asthma or allergies will not act up as nearly as often when you are at home.

You are already probably aware that there are hundreds of different carpet cleaning products on the market. All of them claim to be the best but that cannot be possible. So how is someone supposed to know which is the best to use? You cannot, unless you want to go the trial and error route, which could cost you a few years of your life and thousands of dollars once you get through all of the products. In addition, it seems as though they are always coming up with something new so it could very well be impossible to test everything out.

There is always the worry that the chemicals used in these products are going to be harmful to your children, your pets and even to the carpet itself. In order to avoid all of that, it may be best to look into homemade cleaners that you can use on your carpets. There are many recipes out there to make your own carpet cleaner but you do want to proceed with caution.

Before you try to clean that big spot in the middle of your living room floor, you are going to want to make sure that you test the new homemade carpet cleaner out. Pick a spot along the wall that is out of view and use the carpet cleaner there.

This way, if there is any bleaching or other discoloration of the carpet, you will know before you spray it all over the middle of your floor. Generally, you will not have a problem but it is always better to be safe than sorry.

So, you have always been told that you have to vacuum and you need your carpets scrubbed every so often, but do you really have to call in a professional service to clean your carpets as well? If you do, how often do you need to do this? This is something I found myself wondering one day and would like to share with you what I have learned.

You do want to make sure that you are vacuuming on a daily basis, especially in high traffic areas. When you vacuum on a regular basis, you will find yourself in need a professional service as often as you would otherwise.

You may also want to  invest in your very own foam or steam cleaner. The best thing to do is to make sure that when you are cleaning your carpets that you are never soaking the carpet as this breaks down the padding and the carpet fibers, which is not a good thing.

When you have spots or spills on the carpet, you want to make sure that you are addressing those right away. If you make sure to tend to cleaning your carpet as regularly as you should be, then you should have no problem having a nice, clean looking carpet.

However, you should still call in someone for a professional cleaning at least once a year, twice a year if you can afford it. Many people, myself included, choose to call in a professional carpet cleaning service before the holidays so that the carpet is looking its best for when guests arrive.

Believe it or not, not everyone knows how to properly vacuum, even though they might think they do. Many people vacuum using a “W” motion. Basically, they run the vacuum forwards and then backwards and forwards again, each time at an angle. While it may appear as though the carpet is being properly cleaned, there is a large section of the carpet that is not getting the attention that it should since the vacuum actually does the most of good when being pulled back, rather than pushed forward.

To vacuum correctly, you have to first make sure that your vacuum is in proper working order each time you pull it out to use it. Make sure that the vacuum bag or container is not too full and that all of the attachments and belts are on securely. Once you have done all of that, you are ready to vacuum but it is important to make sure that you know how to vacuum the right way. If you do not know how to do it properly, you are leaving behind a big mess of dirt, dander, dog hair and all sorts of other disgusting things.

Turn on the vacuum and push it straight forward and then straight back in the same line. Then move slightly over and repeat this motion. Once you have done the entire room, make sure that you are turning the other way and doing it again. This time, you will be crossing over the straight lines in order to make sure that you are getting any pieces of dirt that may have been left behind the first time through.