Carpet Cleaning Tips
Do you want to turn a house into a beautiful home? Cover all floors in carpets. It is warm on the feet in the winter and nothing beats the softness of a mat in the summer when you walk barefoot. You can lie down next to a heater or fireplace with a book and it’s quite comfortable when you make a strong pillow. The lovely carpets give you the characteristics of a true home and, because they are a long-term purchase, their maintenance far exceeds the mere weekly vacuum runs we perform. But we’re here to give you carpet cleaning cuts to keep your carpet spotless.
# 1: Remove pet hair with a squeegee
Pet hair is remarkably difficult to remove with just a vacuum cleaner. Lint rollers may not be very helpful in cleaning the entire surface and with some pets the shedding can be overwhelming. If your carpet has very short hair, then you’re ready with the trusted squeegee.
The squeegee might be intended for windows, but its design is made to dislodge dirt, frost, and other substances that form thin layers and adhere to a surface, just like pet hair on a short pile carpet. Water the squeegee and use it as you do on a window.
# 2: Remove stains with an iron
Stain removal has put the will and intelligence of homeowners to the test. We present a three-step process that will help remove the stains from the carpet.
First, vacuum the stained area to remove hard particles. This lets you focus only on the available stains. This is crucial preparation work.
Second, treat stains with a 3: 1 water-vinegar mixture. You should let this mixture seep into the stained fabric. Five minutes should be enough.
Three, place a towel over the stained area and apply a hot iron. The pressure and heat make the stain transfer onto the towel like a reverse water temporary tattoo.
# 3: Lint Roller to the rescue
Have you ever had the feeling that no matter how hard you vacuum, there is only dirt, crumbs, and hair that your vacuum cannot handle? This is a common problem that you have to deal with when you have long pile carpets and even the most powerful vacuum cleaner cannot clean the fibers at a higher level.
The solution is to buy a lint roller for those problem areas and put a little grease on your elbow until it picks up all the stubborn particles. Depending on the type of carpet, you may not spend more than five minutes total per carpet.
# 4: Homemade Deep Cleaning Carpet Cleaner
Yes, you can buy all the detergents your heart desires for deep carpet cleaning, especially if you have your own carpet washing machine. But those might not be the best option when trying to lead a healthy and organic life. If you are the Nature team and want to minimize the effect you have on the environment, then this recipe is for you.
The ingredients are as follows: a ¾ cup of hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup of white vinegar, 5 drops of essential oils, 2 tablespoons of dish soap, 2 tablespoons of fabric softener, and a gallon of hot but not boiling water. This is a lot cleaner option compared to store bought ones and you get the same results easily. Lock and load in your shampoo machine and you’re ready for a deep clean.
# 5: Baking Soda Masks Pet Accidents
At the risk of this item sounding like a baking soda endorsement, I also have to include baking soda as an effective treatment for when it comes to home-raiding pets. Accidents happen and pet owners will accept that animal urine does not give up without a fight. There is the smell and discoloration, but a generous amount of baking soda absorbs the smell and then allows you to erase the rest of the mess. You will find this to be a lifesaver when you are training a very energetic puppy to wait until you take him for a walk.
# 6: Baking soda fights oil stains
Oil has to be the most frustrating substance to remove from carpets, and sometimes these stains cannot be treated exactly with hot water and the cleaning technique. You need a special way to extract oils from your carpets, and this is where baking soda saves your life and your carpet. Apply it liberally to the stain area and leave until the baking soda absorbs the stain and for a kind of dry crust, which can vacuum and leave a much lighter stain. Once most of the oil has been absorbed, you can proceed to clean the stain.
# 7: Rubbing alcohol removes nail polish
You may not want to risk rubbing alcohol on carpets, as this could damage the stain and cause bleaching, especially when the offending stain is nail polish. However, trust me when I say that nail polish remover and other types of clear alcohol are not strong enough to bleach a carpet. You should wait until the nail polish has dried. Remove as much of the dry nail polish as you can with a blunt tool, preferably a butter knife, and then gently rub with a cloth or paper towel until the nail polish dissolves and absorbs into the material.
# 8: Baking Soda Can Also Cool Your Carpet
Technically, baking soda is half of what you need to create your own air freshener for when you want to spruce up your carpet, be it for guests or another more formal event. You will need a bottle of essential oil and a 16 ounce box of baking soda. Add 10 to 20 drops, depending on how noticeable you want the aroma to be and look for something fresh like a citrus. Sprinkle your mat with this mixture in the same way that you would sprinkle a cake with sugar and then vacuum after 5-10 minutes.
# 9: Shaving cream solves normal dirt spots
The lighter carpets in pastel beige, yellow, white and soft colors get these patches of dirt that come from heavy traffic, dust buildup or just careless accidents. Having children around also gives carpets very visible slip marks and dirt can be a nuisance at times, but not when it comes to shaving cream. Either type works, so you can budget well around this. The stain can be old and the main benefit of rubbing the shaving cream on the stain and letting it sit is that afterwards the mat feels soft to the touch and also has more lint. You could also call it an anti-aging carpet cream.
# 10: Strong deodorant recipe
Have children? Have pets? Do you want your carpets to smell fresh? Do you also want to use products that do not harm your loved ones? The recipe is simple. Start with one to two tablespoons of borax in a large bowl. Follow the borax with 10 drops of essential oil, but before deciding on one, better investigate how strong the odor is and what odors can irritate your pets as pets have a much more sensitive sense of smell compared to human beings. Finally, follow this up with two cups of baking soda.
In essence, it is a mix similar to the previous trick, but a little more powerful. Baking soda absorbs bad odors, the oil refreshes the carpet fiber, but here you also have borax, which kills germs, microbes and is safe in these amounts.
# 11: Fluff your carpet with the power of vinegar
Vinegar has many uses similar to baking soda when it comes to carpet care, and one of the most interesting uses is to fluff high-traffic areas where the carpet appears worn and the fibers have flattened out. Dilute the vinegar in equal amounts of water and then spray it on the affected area. Once the material has absorbed the mix, take a regular spoon and run it sideways across the mat to loosen the fibers and restore their original texture.
# 12: Shag Carpets needs special care
Right, lint carpets might have returned as a must-have in your home, but that doesn’t mean lint carpets have become easier to clean. In contrast, most vacuum cleaners have such strong suction that it causes these carpets to come off as the fibers are absorbed, curled, or just come loose. It is as if you had a pet in your house. To avoid these spillage episodes altogether, simply vacuum only with the hose fitting. You get to the roots of the fibers without damaging the tissue.
# 13: Fluff Your Carpet with the power of the ice cube
This trick is intended for prints left on furniture carpets, especially when they are heavy and do not move frequently. These prints are annoying to see if you decide on a completely different arrangement. But don’t despair, because it turns out that you can restore your carpet to its former glory with an ice cube. Put a regular ice cube on these dents and let them melt. Then pat off excess water and iron the area until dry with a towel. Once the fibers are almost dry they will be flexible and you can fluff these areas by hand with ease.
# 14: Area carpets and runners are your friends
It has fine carpets that you love to display when you host reunions and host parties, but foot traffic is ruthless and without proper care these carpets wear out faster. What you can do is buy carpets and hallways to place in the areas that receive the most traffic, and then remove them when you have guests. It saves you a lot of time vacuuming and also keeps your carpets looking new for much longer.
# 15: Keep carpets clean with shoe covers
Are you planning to move? Will there be any occasions like preparing for an event that will result in high foot traffic on your carpets? Minimize any damage by having people wear a pair of shoe caps indoors, as they will remove footprints from boots, running shoes and stilettos, and prevent people from tracing too much dirt around the house. Prevention is as important as maintenance and a little forethought keeps cleanliness to a minimum.
# 16: Ice vs. gum
Chewing gum is never good for finishing on a carpet, but while it seems impossible to remove gum from any fiber, it isn’t. The main difficulty is whilst the gum is still soft. Stretching and dealing with it at that point can cause more damage, so you should instead stiffen it. An ice cube on the gum for half a minute should be enough to freeze it and allow you to scrape it off with a spoon with limited damage to your mat.
Our professional carpet cleaning services here at I Care Cleaning Services have all the essential tools and requirements to clean your carpet. So, you do not have to worry about cleaning. Just make sure you are taking the precautions properly.