Carpets are still the first choice when it comes to house flooring, despite all the varieties of hardwood and laminate floors. They are soft and warm to the touch in the wintertime and are still one of the easiest floors to maintain. According to beavermaids.com Regular vacuuming and several deep cleanings during the year will do the trick of keeping your carpet clean.
Regular vacuuming and several deep cleanings during the year will do the trick of keeping your carpet clean. However, if you have children, pets, or frequent traffic in your home by friends and family members, in-between cleaning might be necessary. Spills, stains, and dirt are common daily mishaps that can ruin your carpet if not handled immediately and with proper care. We bring you some tips and tricks that might help you with the upkeep.
1. Don’t rub, soak up!
Stains from red wine or dark colored juices can stand out like a sore thumb in light-colored carpets. When this happens, do not rub the carpet. Take a sponge, cloth, or a paper towel, and gently try to absorb the liquid, patting from the edges of the stain towards the center. Rubbing will make the carpet soak up the liquid, and it will spread it out even more. Light dabbing will take out most of the stain.
2. The club soda and white vinegar routine
Taking out carpet stains with a club soda is an old trick that housewives have been applying for ages. Pour some club soda on the clean towel and press onto the stain. This should soak up the liquid from the carpet. If you can still see discoloration on the carpet, try white vinegar and water solution in a 1:1 ratio. Pour or spray the diluted liquid onto the spot, and wait about 15 minutes for the carpet to soak it up. After that take a clean towel, or a sponge and press firmly into the stain. Depending on the cause of the stain, the process might take a few tries. Repeat until there is no stain left. After that, rinse the area with some clean wet towels, and press dry paper towels firmly to dry it out as much as possible. Leave it for 24 hours to dry completely.
3. Shaving cream
Some professionals claim that nothing removes stains from the carpet like shaving cream. If you want to give it a shot, put a small amount of the cream onto the spot, and let it do its magic. After sitting for about half an hour, dry out the area with some clean sponges, or towels. Be careful not to put too much shaving cream since it’s very hard to rinse it from the carpet. A small dab will do for most stains.
4. Chewing gum
Kids love to stick gum everywhere, especially the carpet. If you have children or have friends and family visiting with kids, you know this scenario. Don’t panic, taking the gum out of the carpet is actually very quick and easy. Take an ice cube from a freezer and hold it onto the chewing gum for a minute or so. When it hardens, lift it up from the carpet with a fork or knife. The small particles of the gum left on the carpet remove with small scissors being careful not to chop off big chunks of the strands. If you do it precisely and meticulously, the treated area would be as good as new.
5. Greasy stains
Greasy stains are a very common occurrence if you have the habit of eating in the living room in front of the TV. Some family nights are best spent munching while watching a movie. This is how grease ends up on your carpet, and the solution is right next to your kitchen sink – the dish soap. Detergents have chemicals that cut through the grease with ease, so it makes perfect sense in using it on the carpet stains. Dissolve a bit of dish soap in warm water and soak up the carpet area. Wait for a few minutes and dab it with a clean cloth. If the stain is old or takes up a larger area of the flooring, it might take several tries before the stain completely comes out.
6. Candle wax
Burning candles are part of the winter ambiance, especially around Christmas. Carpet stains are not. Dripping wax will harden in a matter of second and embed into the carpet fibers. To remove it, you need to heat it up with an iron. Take a cloth that you’re willing to throw away after the process, put it on the wax stain, and gently iron without the steam. Once the wax is softened, not completely melted, pull off the cloth from the carpet taking the wax with it (think waxing). If small bits are still left in the strands remove them with small scissors, carefully cutting the tops.
7. Bloodstains
Nose bleeds and paper cuts are common accidents that can leave heavy blood stains on your carpet. Hydrogen peroxide is the best thing for removing blood from the carpet, besides replacing it. Pour some of the solution directly to the spot and wait for 10 to 15 minutes. The contact will cause foam and sizzle, which is a normal result. Pat the stain down with some clean cloth and voila! If it’s and older blood stain it might take a couple of times before the stain goes out.
8. Pet accidents
Puppies and kittens are prone to having accidents all over the carpet until they grow up a bit. Trying one of the methods already described might work, but the odor might linger for some time. For this, you might want to check out your local pet store and get some solutions especially infused with compounds that remove unpleasant odors along with stains.
9. Regular deep cleaning
To maintain your carpeting clean, soft and fresh, deep cleaning several times per year, or more often depending on if you have children, pets, or both, is crucial. Read more about how you can upkeep your carpet by yourself using deep-clean vacuum cleaners. Hiring a professional company might not be the best solution if you have frequent incidents since it will quickly exceed the price of one good carpet cleaner.
