CARPET CLEANING GUIDE
If you’re reading this page, it must mean that you’re interested in cleaning your carpet or rug. Congrats! You’ve come to the right place. Carpet and Rug world has over 200 posts regarding Carpet and Rug Cleaning, which is why we felt like a page that gathered the most important information was necessary.
And this is in! In this page we’ll try to answer the most important questions that our readers usually have like: When to Hire a Professional, How to Hire a Carpet Cleaner (and not get ripped off), Carpet Cleaning DIY Guides, Best Carpet Cleaning Equipment or How to Clean Oriental Rugs.
We chose not to make this page too long (that way it’s faster to read and more useful to our readers), so we’ll try to answer to those questions on this page, but we’ll link to the posts in Carpet and Rug World that really explain them in detail. I would strongly encourage you to come back to this page every time you finish reading one of those post!
WHEN TO HIRE A PROFESSIONAL
This is the most important question we get regarding Carpet Cleaning. Should you clean your carpet yourself or should you hire a professional? The short answer is… Professional Cleaners will always do a better job than any DIYer. But! You can reach almost the same results as you would by hiring a professional Carpet Cleaner if you’re extremely consistent when it comes to cleaning your carpet when you have to. If you don’t clean your carpet when you have to, then only a professional carpet cleaner will be able to clean it properly.
This has a very simple explanation… when a carpet gets dirty, only the top third of the fibers are really getting dirty. If you clean your carpet soon, your equipment will be able to clean that top third of the carpet. But if you wait too much… then the dirt, soil or stain will fall to the bottom 2/3 of the carpet. And only a professional carpet cleaner will be able to clean it properly.
Carpet Care Tips
Follow these steps:
Vacuum often, such as weekly.
Start with a clean bag or filter.
Vacuum at the right speed, not too fast.
Use protective rugs in high traffic areas.
Don’t take bids over the phone.
Beware of “cheap” carpet cleaners.
You do get what you pay for, with carpet cleaning.
Clean the carpet before it becomes unhealthy.
If you have carpeting in your office or home, you’ll have to either rent a carpet steam cleaner or have a 15 x more effective professional carpet cleaner with a big performance unit such as a truck mount carpet cleaner. Carpet Care services have been providing all forms of carpet care and cleaning since 1987. If you want to keep your carpets looking good, and smelling beautiful, follow these carpet care tips. Accumulated dirt, grime, and pet stains will cause a nasty odour to emit from your carpet, making the whole room smell unclean. And stains that linger around for a while will set and be more difficult to remove.
A home vacuum cleaner will not remove stains; that’s a job for a professional carpet cleaning company. A carpet cleaner is also called a carpet steam cleaner or carpet steamer. Its sometimes even confused with other types of steam cleaners, as well as floor steam cleaners
Types of Carpet Care Cleaners
There are only two main types of carpet cleaners for home use. Because these two carpet cleaners have different functions, it can be very convenient to have both. Each class has a purpose. Therefore, they can both be used to effect a carpet cleaning. You would use a compact portable carpet spot cleaner to remove stains as they happen, which can delay a full carpet cleaning to a more convenient time.
Important Carpet Care Cleaners Features
Other than hi-rise or apartment complex building, it is less common to see the dragging of a carpet cleaners hoses from the kitchen sink faucet. Then through the entire carpeted area, cleaned. Today’s carpet cleaners are more user-friendly and more comfortable to handle with on-board water tanks and tools.
How to look after your carpet A guide
A carpet can very quickly trap vast amounts of trodden – in dirt and grit from pavements containing all manner of unpleasant contaminants. It is also a store for invisible airborne pollutants such as human and animal dander, mould spores, pollen, engine fumes, dust mites and their faeces, bacteria, smoke, and other nasty chemicals.
The grit, if left in the carpet, will work its way to the bottom of the pile and slowly wear it away without anybody noticing until it is too late. The pollutants, if not removed from the carpet, will be a threat to the health and comfort of the occupants and visitors, and will begin to smell stale.
Outside the building
Because trodden in dirt starts its life outside, it does help enormously if one can brush and preferably wash down the approaches to entrance doors, and place a substantial scraper mat outside or within each doorway. The bigger the better. It needs to be shaken out daily. If dirt is allowed to build up in a mat, it will lose its ability to collect dirt.
Indoor Doormats
Trodden in wet muddy dirt is best dealt with by doormats at the inside of each entrance. You may already be using them, but what are they supposed to be doing? They should be trapping any wet dirt that escapes the outdoors mat. Synthetic mat materials such as polypropylene absorb very little moisture. I recommend the use of rubber backed cotton pile mats within each doorway. They are absorbent and thus collect wet dirt before it is trodden further into the building to rapidly soak into the carpets. It is important to wash these mats regularly.
Vacuuming
Even if you manage to reduce trodden in dirt to zero, there are still all those invisible but undesirable bits of dry debris constantly floating down onto your carpet. As they get walked on so they get pushed further into the pile. That is why it is important to vacuum main walkways regularly and frequently before the particles “take root”, even when there is no visible dirt on the surface.
How To: Carpet Cleaning
Professional Spotting Techniques
No carpet cleaner can guarantee total removal of every stain found on carpet. Fresh, relatively new stains, are easier to remove than old, set ones. Old stains like urine, cordials, and deep coloured juices dye the carpet and are impossible to remove. You can only expect to lighten the intensity of the colour.
Improper treatment of stains by the home owner usually makes stains more difficult to remove. For this reason, be honest with the customer, let them know that even professionals cannot perform “miracles”. Such honesty will help eliminate misunderstandings regarding ability and liability.
Contrary to popular belief most spotters should be used after a carpet is extracted. The reason being that 95 – 98% of the stains will be removed by extraction cleaning, particularly if it is used as a pre-spray and spotter, prior to extraction with your machine.
Spotting Procedure
Many chemical companies have made it extremely confusing and time consuming by printing elaborate stain removal charts and lists of stains with the correct procedure for each one. We believe this is the wrong way to approach stain removal as it does not encourage a learning process of stain identification and classification and most importantly it does not present a professional image. A carpet cleaner flicking through a stain removal chart in front of the customer should be avoided at all costs.
The RESEARCH PRODUCTS Method
We have developed a very simple numbering system that lets you set your own fixed procedure in dealing with stains, whether they are identified or not. By following the spotting system 1 through to 4, you are assured that the stain won’t be made more difficult to remove and that the spotter will be neutralised even if not completely rinsed from the fibres.
How to Clean Carpet the Right Way, According to a Cleaning Expert
Sad but true: Coffee stains, wine spills, and muddy footprints are simply a part of life. Sure, there are ways you can try your best to prevent the mess in the first place — asking guests to take their shoes off or buying a stain-resistant carpet, for example — but your best bet is knowing how to get rid of them before they happen.
While vacuuming on a regular basis will keep your carpet from looking dingy and dirty, tough stains are something that even the best vacuum can’t handle. Whatever the problem, there’s a specific solution or cleaning product to make your area look brand-new (or at the very least, clean) again
For most stains, follow these instructions to clean your carpet:
Take two empty spray bottles, and fill one with cold water. In the other, mix 1/4 teaspoon mild dishwashing liquid, like Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid Dish Soap, and 1 cup warm water.
Spray the detergent solution onto an absorbent cloth (not the carpet — you don’t want to wet it too much), and dab (don’t rub!) it on the spot. As the stain dissolves, blot with a clean section of cloth. Keep applying and blotting until the stain is gone.
Spray another cloth with the cold water, and use it to rinse the detergent solution from the carpet, then blot again with a dry cloth.
Pile a stack of paper towels on the wet spot, and place a heavy pot on top. “Overnight, the towels will soak up any residual stain deep in the carpet. In the morning, fluff the fibers with your fingers and allow to air-dry,” Forte suggests.
If the stain remains, try a more targeted approach based on the stain you’re dealing with.
How to Refresh Carpet With Baking Soda
Looking to take a more natural approach?Lightly sprinkle baking soda to freshen up dingy carpets. After sprinkling it on trouble spots, work it into a pile with a soft brush and let it sit for 15 -30 minutes before vacuuming. Start with a new vacuum bag or clean cup and filter to make sure your vacuum’s suction is at its best to pick up the fine powder from the carpet.
How to Remove Pet Stains From Carpet
No matter how cute your four-legged friend is, the poop and urine stains they leave behind certainly aren’t. To remove pet stains, use a carpet cleaner with enzymes that also work to destroy odor-causing bacteria. After spraying the cleaner, work it in with a clean, damp cloth, rinse the area with a clean, damp cloth, and cover with the same cloth for up to 12 hours. An added bonus: The enzyme-packed cleaners,