Are you looking to clean your carpets but unsure how to do it?
Cleaning your carpets makes your space look nicer, increases your home’s value, and extends the life of your floors. But how do you clean your carpets? What tools do you need?
Check out this clean carpet guide to learn everything you need about cleaning carpets.
1. Vacuum Your Floors
First things first, you need to vacuum your floors. Ideally, you’ve already been vacuuming your carpets every week. Vacuuming your floors before cleaning will ensure that dirt doesn’t get ground into your floors.
Before you begin vacuuming, move your furniture out of the way. You may want to wrap it in plastic to ensure that it stays protected when cleaning.
Use the vacuum attachment to clean the edges of the carpet and around any furniture that can’t be moved. To achieve the best results, vacuum your carpet in two directions that are perpendicular to one another.
2. Treat Stains and High-Traffic Areas
Before you begin cleaning your entire carpet, you must give the areas with stains and the high-traffic areas a little extra love. How you pretreat the stain will depend on the type of stain you’re working with.
For example, if you have a wine stain, you can pretreat it with dishwashing soap, white vinegar, and water.
If you’re unsure what to use, you can always use a general carpet spot cleaner on the areas with stains. Just test a small patch of corner carpet first for colorfastness.
Once you’ve ensured that the spot cleaner doesn’t alter the color of your carpet, you can spray the cleaner on the stain according to the manufacturer’s directions. After the spot cleaner has had time to soak, blot the stain with a clean, dry towel.
3. Steam Clean Your Carpet
Once you’ve removed the stains, it’s time to steam-clean your carpet. You can either buy or rent a portable carpet cleaner.
Because carpet cleaners are pretty bulky, most people choose to rent them. Be sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions before you begin cleaning your carpet.
Take some carpet cleaner and hot water, then begin cleaning your carpets. Once you finish cleaning, give your carpet 24 hours to dry.
4. Vacuum Again
After 24 hours, you should vacuum your carpet one more time. This will ensure that any dirt or debris that collects on your carpet while cleaning gets lifted off.
After vacuuming, you can move your furniture back to its original location.
Clean Carpet: Are You Ready to Clean Your Carpets?
Now that you’ve read this clean carpet guide, it’s time to clean your carpets. Before you know it, your carpet will be looking brand new.
In addition to cleaning your carpet, there are some other things you need to do to maintain it. Check out this guide to learn what you should do regarding yearly carpet maintenance.