It’s getting to be that time of year where family, long-distance relatives, and friends come to town to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. However, there’s no reason to spend the season worrying about floors surviving the holidays instead of spending time with loved ones. As there are several flooring varieties for both residential and commercial spaces, take a peek below to see the best ways to thoroughly clean carpet floors.
Vacuum!
It’s best to start with the obvious. Unlike other flooring choices, carpeting requires regular upkeep to have it looking its best. The Carpet and Rug Institute recommends vacuuming high-traffic carpeted areas on a daily basis. Vacuuming carpet floors on a daily basis prevents soil, dirt, and other debris from collecting in the loops. However, vacuuming every day may not be in everyone’s schedule, so on a weekly basis is a good compromise.
Blot stains – don’t rub
Regardless of being a parent or not, accidents will happen. Knowing how to clean carpeting (and other flooring, at that matter) can prevent any stain from setting or causing permanent damage. On carpeting, it’s best to blot a stain — don’t rub it further into the carpet. Grab some water and a cleaning solvent (add detergent sparingly, if needed) and wet a wash cloth, paper towel, or sponge to work the spill our of the carpeting. Blotting puts pressure on the stain, which aids in soaking it up. Before doing any of this though, if the spill is from food, remove any the solid materials by scooping everything up with a spoon or dull knife.
Deep cleaning is always recommended
Because of the materials used, carpet floors require a little more elbow grease to clean than other flooring choices. But, that doesn’t mean carpet is difficult to clean. However, no matter how regularly disinfected carpeting is, routine cleaning can’t get entirely everything. That’s why The Carpet and Rug Institute recommend having a deep cleaning done by a professional every 12-18 months. A deep cleaning, such as a steam cleaning, not only keeps carpet looking fresh and new, but it also works to remove oils, remove embedded dirt, and gets rid of grime. Depending on the foot traffic, carpet may need to be deep cleaned more often the every 12-18 months; some flooring experts recommend every six months for large families, especially those with children.
A final tip for any flooring choice: always treat an affected area immediately, no matter what the stain, spill, or accident may be. The longer something sits on carpet or other floors, the harder it is to clean up.
Don’t have carpet in your home? Check out the other posts in the floor cleaning series – luxury vinyl, solid hardwood, and laminate.
