Carpet makes rooms in your home feel warm and cozy, but it can also prove difficult to keep as clean as other floors like hardwoods. Overtime carpet can really start to look worn or faded. Here are some tips for cleaning your carpet, and to make sure it looks as good as the day it was installed.

 

Blot, Blot, Blot

If there’s a spill or stain on your carpet it’s very natural to grab a wet cloth and rub the stain out. This is almost the worst thing you can do for your carpet. Blotting the carpet puts pressure onto the spot and helps absorb the stain out of the carpet. By rubbing it you might actually cause the carpet to breakdown prematurely which means it will show wear sooner.

 

Use Shaving Cream

This might sound odd, but shaving cream actually helps to remove almost any kind of stain. Spray it onto the affected area and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then take a white cloth that’s dry and blot the area. Afterwards, take a mixture of one part vinegar to one part water, spray on the area and wipe away the solution with a cloth.

 

Use Ice Cubes

If you have stepped in gum and didn’t realize until you got home and spread it all over the carpet then you might be frustrated with how to remove something sticky from the carpet. Well, grab a couple ice cubes from the freezer and hold them to the gum for about 30 second to a minute. After that use a spoon and pry it up from the carpet. Then take very sharp scissors and cut the carpet as close to the gum as possible. As long as you don’t cut too much of the carpet it should not be noticeable.

 

Dish Soap

If you have a grease stain on your carpet, you can put some dish soap mixed with water on the area. Dish soap is meant to cut through grease on dishes, and it works on other stains as well. After about 5 or 10 minutes you can blot it up. If the grease stain is large you might have to repeat it a couple times.

 

Hydrogen Peroxide

A blood stain is very obvious on a carpet, especially when it’s a light coloured carpet. For blood on the carpet, you should apply water and a mild detergent to loosen it, then remove as much blood as you can by scraping it without damaging the carpet. Then apply hydrogen peroxide to the area. Beware that it will foam when it mixes with blood, but you can dab it dry with a towel.

 

Regular Deep Cleaning

Carpets attract a lot dirt and debris. It’s really important to do a regular deep cleaning of your carpet. This could include a steam cleaning either by you or a professional carpet cleaning company. Performing regular deep cleaning will keep your carpet looking fresh. If you have pets in your home, or if someone in your home is allergic to dust and dander then this will also help to keep the allergies at bay and the dust out of your home.

 

Carpets definitely make any room of your home feel cozy but they require maintenance and care to keep them looking their best. These simple tips will help you to remove common stains from the carpets so they always look magazine worthy.

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