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Carpets have many benefits over other flooring options including comfort, heat insulation and sound insulation. However, they have one big drawback – they require much more rigorous cleaning. Carpets can easily develop permanent stains if you’re not careful, as well as becoming full of bacteria and allergens. By adopting the right cleaning measures, you can protect your carpets from becoming damaged and prevent it becoming a health hazard. Below are just a few tips for keeping carpets clean.
Upgrade your vacuum cleaner
It’s worth investing in a decent vacuum cleaner that is easy to maneuver and that has powerful enough suction to get rid of all the dirt, hair and dust in your carpet (without pulling up carpet fibres). There are vacuum cleaners designed for different types of carpet that you can use. If you’ve got a mix of carpets and hardwood floors in your home, check out this best vacuum for hardwood and carpet. You can also buy carpet cleaning machines that spray water and cleaning chemicals onto the carpet, helping to provide a more thorough clean.
Clean up food and spillages straight away
To prevent spillages turning into permanent stains, make sure that you clean them up straight away. A carpet cleaning machine will be able to get rid of any spilt liquid. Alternatively, try to soak up any liquid by dabbing it with paper towels or a cloth – you should then go over the spillage when semi-dry with a wet sponge and soda, similarly dabbing the spot so as not to cause any damage to the carpet.
Lay down rugs and mats
Rugs and mats can be placed in mess-prone zones of your home to protect your carpets. Popular places to add rugs include under sofas and under dining tables where they can catch any food debris. Door mats near exterior doors can meanwhile discourage mud and dirt from being dragged in onto your carpets. If you’ve got young kids, you should also consider adding splash mats under high chairs or tables while eating, as well as putting down mats when doing any kind of messy play such as using paint or modelling clay.
Take shoes off at the door
If you wear your shoes around the home, you could be transferring dirt from outside into your carpets. Adopting a ‘no shoes in the house’ policy is one of the simplest ways to stop your carpets getting so dirty. This could be particularly important if you have young kids or like going on country walks.
Know when to replace old carpets
Once carpets start to get old and worn, they’re likely to become much harder to clean. If they’ve already got lots of stains or general discoloration, and not even a carpet cleaning machine can get them back to normal, consider whether it’s time to replace your carpets. When choosing a new carpet that is easy to clean, consider a short pile carpet and try to avoid white carpets as these are more prone to staining. Alternatively, this could be a time to ditch carpet in favor of an easier-to-clean option like laminate or tiles.
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