What You Should Do With Your Carpets

Carpets make a house a home. They add warmth, color and texture to a room, transforming it into a haven of relaxation. However, a dirty carpet can make a room a virtual health hazard. Dirty carpets trap toxins, such as pet dander, dust mites and even mold.

All of these can lead to poor air quality that affects breathing conditions, such as asthma or respiratory disease. Therefore, it is important that you keep your carpets clean and fresh, so that they do not become a household problem by trapping dirt and dust in a room. By setting aside a little time each month to properly care for your carpets and area rugs you can keep them looking fresh and beautiful long after their purchase date.

Regularly cleaning your household carpets is essential for good indoor air quality. Along with improving you and your family’s health, regularly cleaning your home’s carpets will help extend the life of the carpet. You paid good money for the carpets, so you want to keep them looking new, don’t you? Dirt and foot traffic can break down carpet fibers, leading to fraying and fading. Regular cleanings help prevent unnecessary wear and tear.

Few people have the time (or the desire) to wash an entire carpet on a weekly or even monthly basis. Therefore, it is important to tackle stains or spill right away, before they have a chance to set it. This will go a long way in keeping your carpets looking tip-top. Before you tackle any stains or spills with cleaner, you should first try to remove as much of it as possible, by blotting or scraping. Test any cleaner in an unnoticeable area first, to make sure it won’t discolor your carpet. Working from the outside to the inside, dab the cleaner on the stain. Don’t rub it, or you’ll just make the stain harder to remove. Once you have covered the stain with cleaner, blot any access with a paper towel or other absorbent material. Use a bath towel (white, so the color won’t run) to dry the carpet and refresh the fibers.

Regular vacuuming is another important step in keeping carpets fresh and clean. You should vacuum your carpets once a week and more often in areas with high foot traffic. This will help prevent dirt and particles from building up, which can deteriorate carpet fibers. Once a month you should take your crevice tool (yes, there is a purpose for this tool) and vacuum around the edges of your wall-to-wall carpeting. If you have odors from smoke or pets, you can add baking soda to the vacuum cleaner bag, which will help absorb the odors.

There are many different types of carpet cleaners available, including dry cleaners and ecologically friendly cleaners. Dry cleaners, a new alternative to traditional steam cleaning, use hot carbonation extraction that deeply cleans the carpet. Because dry cleaning a carpet uses only a fraction of the water than steam cleaning, carpets dry in just a few hours, rather than a few days. The dry cleaning method is ideal for delicate or antique area rugs. Both steam cleaners and dry carpet cleaners come in ecologically friendly or organic versions. These eco-friendly cleaning products don’t have many of the chemicals used in commercial cleaners and are one hundred percent biodegradable.

Keep yourself, your family and your pets healthy with fresh, clean carpets. Indoor air quality will be greatly improved and at the same time your carpet will look good as new. Regular cleanings, such as vacuuming and stain removal are an important part of keeping your carpet looking and feeling great.