Carpet Cleaning -What is the best way to clean your carpet?

Being a homeowner brings a set of challenges that we have to adjust to. Some people grow up in homes where chores are a necessity. Some have never really experienced the slog of hoovering, or washing up, or doing the ironing. That is until it comes to the time of moving out and having the responsibility of keeping a home clean. Most homes have carpets, and carpets can be a nightmare to keep clean especially if the colour is lighter. From accidental spillages of a spaghetti Bolognese to children spilling their pretty coloured paint, carpets bear the brunt of many an accident. It can be an absolute nightmare to get stains out and it can cause such a frenzy, especially if it’s recently installed carpet that you were trying to keep pristine. Not only that, your carpet can become subject to some wear and tear over the years. Perhaps a build-up of dirt, or thinning of the material that means you want to keep it in the best looking condition as possible. Whatever your reason for needing some carpet cleaning advice, we have it for you. Below is an all-inclusive guide to keeping your carpet clean.

Tips & Tricks: 10 Quick Cleaning Tips

How can I clean my carpet at home?

How you clean your carpet all depends on the scenario you find yourself in. Luckily, there are so many ways that you can clean your carpet to get the best result for you. The first thing to consider is what the spillage is. There are certain liquids that are known as ‘tough stains’. It’s the same with your clothes and anything you spill down those, you know there are some stains that are going to be a pain to get out. It’s usually anything vibrant such as chilli, or a spaghetti Bolognese, or paint.

If it’s a ‘soft stain’ it’s most likely going to be something like a soft drink, or a food that’s light in colour and consistency. These are far easier to get out of your carpet.

The first thing that you would need to do is get some cleaning solution and apply it to the required area. The sooner you get a cleaning solution onto the area, the sooner it will be able to get to work on breaking down the stain, making it easier for it to be lifted out of the carpet. You can either by a cleaning solution from the store, or you can make one yourself at home, this is something we’ll touch on in the next section.

Once you have identified to stain, you need to hoover the area. This allows any dust and dirt to be lifted, making the area easier to clean. One way of lifting stains is to use a solution of warm water and baking soda. If using this, sprinkle it over the affected area, or use an alternative cleaning solution. Keeping rubbing it around until bubbles appear, and then use a nail brush or some form of brush to gently rub around the area with warm water. It’s important to remember not to press down hard and scrub. You could be pushing the stain further into the carpet. Once you’ve done this for a few minutes, leave the area to dry. You can then hoover over it again and repeat if the stain has not fully lifted.

If it’s a ‘soft stain’ it’s most likely going to be something like a soft drink, or a food that’s light in colour and consistency. These are far easier to get out of your carpet. All you would need to do is follow the same process as above, yet you’ll find it much easier for the stain to lift.

If you have no stain to remove and you’re just looking to keep your carpet clean, there are a few things that you can do. The first is to make sure that you’re running the hoover around once a day, or more if needs be. You might require more if you have a big dog that sheds fur, or for any other reason that you might find your carpet is dirty. Be warned, over hoovering can lead to loss of material and thickness, so only do it if necessary. There are also light carpet cleaning solutions to put across the whole carpet that brings freshness and a slightly deeper clean when doing the daily hoover. These fresh-smelling solutions can be purchased online or in most supermarkets. You could also pay a professional cleaning company to come once a week or once every fortnight to give your carpet more of a deep clean.

How do you make a good carpet cleaning solution?

There are so many items in your kitchen cupboard that could be used as a cleaning solution that you might not have noticed before. One of the most common is one we’ve already spoken about, and that’s baking soda and warm water. That’s best when being used on acidic stains. All you would need is two or three tablespoons, adjusted according to the size of the stain, and a nail brush to rub the solution in.

Another favourite is a vinegar solution. All that’s needed is about 150mls of white wine vinegar to around 250mls of warm water. Again, all you would need is a nail brush or something similar to rub in the solution.

One final homemade solution that proves very popular is washing detergent and warm water. Washing detergent is designed to remove hard stains from clothing so it’s no surprise that it’s excellent for getting out stains from your carpet.

With all three of these solutions, it’s important to remember that different stains will react differently to the types of solutions. You may find you need to trial and error it until you find the right one. If no home carpet cleaning solutions work, it would be time to call in a professional cleaning company.

How do you remove old red wine stains from carpet?

Red wine is one of the most notorious stains to remove from carpets. The deep red colour and the acidic base of the wine makes it an absolute nightmare to try and remove. The best thing to do is to act fast so that the stain doesn’t work its way deep into the fibres of your carpet.

The first thing to do would be to blot up the bulk of the liquid using a cloth. You will notice the colour of the cloth stops changing the longer you blot meaning the surface of the stain has been lifted.

We’d then recommend using the detergent home cleaning solution to see how that lifts it. You will often find that with a red wine stain you won’t be able to get the stain to go the first time. If you don’t think the solution is lifting it as much as you would like, you can try a deeper solution. Try mixing the detergent with white wine vinegar. It’s a more potent solution that should lift the stain, especially on a second attempt.

If the stain still hasn’t lifted, you would again need to think about contacting a professional carpet cleaning company to lift the stain for you.

How do you deep clean a carpet?

Sometimes you just need to deep clean your carpet, especially if you have a busy household full of children and pets. Even if you think your carpet is clean on the surface, it’s what you know is lying underneath that will drive you towards a deep clean.

The first thing you need to do is have a really good hoover. Don’t just go over it once, go over the carpet in each room two or three times. This gives all of the dirt and dust a really good chance at lifting.

We’d then recommend renting a carpet steam cleaner if you don’t have one already. They’re usually very cheap to rent for the day, or it could be a really good long term investment to buy one. They usually come with a cleaning solution ready for you. You then have to take your time slowly going over every inch of your carpet, allowing the steam cleaner to do its job. You will notice the colour of the water turning a dark brown colour as all of the grim from your carpets is lifted. It will truly astonish you what is lying within your carpet without you realising! It’s a lengthy process, but one that pays off when you see the results.

If all of that sounds like something you’re not prepared to do, feel free to call a professional carpet cleaning company to do the work for you. We understand that not everybody has the time to dedicate to a full deep clean of the carpets.

How do you make old carpet look new?

To make your old carpet look like new again you can follow the cleaning advice that we have given above. We know that when the carpet starts to lose that soft bouncy feeling it has for the first year or so, it can feel as though carpet is tatty and old. When in fact, if you simply start caring for your carpet by doing a deep cleaning once every few weeks, and hoovering every day, your carpet can look as good as new.

We hope that this article has given you some advice to take away that will help you keep your carpets looking good as new. We know how much of a chore it can feel, but there’s simply nothing better than fresh carpet in your home!