Carpet is a trusted flooring for your home. There are many advantages to choosing it over hardwood, but heavy traffic and spills can get you rethinking your choice. Carpet flooring warms up your home with color, patterns, and texture. It requires a cleaning routine to keep it looking it’s best. While you may not need to wash it frequently, 18 months will do, still, life gets in the way. Never fear, here are some tips for making your carpet look brand new when you need it most.

Test for Colorfastness

If you’re unsure, the colorfast carpet doesn’t fade, bleed, or change while you are cleaning it. You can test your carpet but finding an inconspicuous spot. Dampen the cloth with carpet cleaner or stain remover. Add the cloth to the spot and let it sit for 1 hour. Then blot with a dry, white cloth. If the cloth is stained after 1 hour, you do not have a colorfast carpet and will need to find other cleaners to assist in your efforts.

Cleaning Your Carpet

Always begin by ensuring you protect your furniture, carpet padding, and subfloor when cleaning your carpets. Remove furniture from the room and begin by vacuuming. If you’re using a rental carpet cleaning machine or having a professional come through, be sure to choose the right carpet cleaning solution. There are two methods of carpet cleaning.

Water Extraction Method

Many home units on the market utilize the water extraction method. You may also know them by their common name, steam cleaners. They inject a solution into the carpet and pull the dirty solution back into the machine. Steam cleaners can feel like a hassle if they have to be attached to a clean-water hookup. Try to find one that has an on-board hookup that can be refilled and emptied as required. It’s important not to get the carpets soaked. This can cause damage to the underlayment causing your carpet to become discolored, smell bad, or even shrink.

Dry Extraction Method

The second method is Dry Extraction. This method asks you to spread a dry, absorbent compound across your carpet. Then you vacuum it up with a carpet cleaning machine. This method and it’s carpet cleaners typically work better than steam cleaners, but the machine and chemicals required are more expensive than wet extraction methods.

Renting a Cleaner

If you have light-colored carpet, you may find it much more efficient to invest in a carpet cleaning system for your home. The frequency at which light-colored carpet begins to show signs of everyday life is much higher than darker colors or patterns. Still, you will want to wash your carpet every 12 months and that may require renting a carpet cleaner. Local stores or rental centers offer rentals of professional-quality steam cleaners for your use. There are rental fees and additional fees for carpet cleaning solutions such as shampoo, spot removers, and odor removers. This may eat at your budget, but as we mentioned, if your carpet flooring doesn’t show messes frequently, it will be a good option.

Hire a Professional

Hiring professional carpet cleaners gives you options. When you choose a company they will allow you to choose between steam cleaning and the dry extraction method. No matter what cleaning system you choose, the outcome will be beautiful as it was completed by professionals. Professionals have powerful cleaning equipment and experience in knowing how to remove even the peskiest of stains.

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Does your carpet flooring need a refresh? If your carpet is past the point of a good cleaning and in need of replacement Contact us today!