If you want to make your carpet last, you need to protect it. But that can be easier said than done in many households around the country, yours is probably no different. This can be especially critical for homes with large families and one or more pets. The amount of foot traffic the carpets receive, not to mention the spills, messes, and accidents that might occur from any member of the family, two legs or four.
1. Quick Clean-up
When you spill something on your carpet, time is not on your side. The longer you allow that liquid or substance to remain on the fibers, the more likely a stain will set in. So you must tend to a spill or mess on your carpet as fast as possible.
You don’t need to own a Professional Carpet Cleaning Business to know how to pick up a mess effectively. Simply blot the excess moisture in order to absorb it away from the fibers. Never wipe as that will only drive the mess deeper into the carpet, increasing your chances of a stain being left behind.
2. Take Off Your Shoes
Shoes are the natural enemy of carpet as they can track in all kinds of unseemly things from the outside to grind and smear them into your nice, clean carpeting. A good way to prevent that from happening couldn’t be more easy and effective – keep the shoes off the carpet. Ask your family and your guests to do just that.
3. Dedicated Maintenance
Vacuum your carpets at least once a week, more if they get a lot of routine foot traffic. But be sure you do it on a regular basis so you can clear out the dirt and grime that can get in there and dull the appearance and possibly even damage the fibers. Homes with pets will need to do it once to twice a week.
4. Professional Attention
Besides vacuuming, you’ll need to have the carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year. It’s not only good for the carpet but it keeps your carpet warranty valid. Deep cleaning gets at those hard to reach places that a vacuum just can’t hope to reach. It also makes the carpet much healthier to have in the home by cleaning away any bacteria and allergens that can get stuck deep in your carpet pile.
5. Pet Deterrents
Homes with animals may have a problem with their pet relieving itself on the carpet. If they do it once, you can be sure they will do it again because that territory is now hard-wired into the senses as a bathroom friendly area. But using a good pet deterrent spray will ensure that a bathroom mistake happens only the one time.
6. Carpet Protectant
Many carpets are now outfitted with some type of stain resistance or spill resistance built in. But for those older carpets that may not have been equipped with this protection or the original coating has been worn away, there are many carpet protectants on the market that can be highly effective at preventing stains from setting after a spill or mess has been made.