A list of things to consider whenever you wish to clean your home carpets. A sneak peek.
Carpet and area rugs add to the ambience of your living space. While having a carpet does make your space look and feel different, it also adds a few steps to your regular home cleaning and maintenance.
But regular management and cleaning helps prolong the life of your expensive carpet. Cleaning a carpet may not be as frequent as regular maintenance but it is important to follow the right method of cleaning. Otherwise, it can easily harm the carpet and affect its quality and longevity.
Know Your Carpet / Area Rug
The first thing before you take up the task of cleaning is to identify the make and material of your carpet or area rug. Here are a few prominent types and their traits to help you identify them:
Material: The majority of carpets and rugs use wool, silk,nylon, polyester, olefin, and even cotton, jute fibres, polypropylene and viscose. Each of these will offer a unique mix of appearance, durability and stain resistance
Footfall or Usage: The amount of footfall the carpet or rug experiences also plays a role in determining its life. The higher the footfall,the more frequent maintenance it needs. The presence of pets can also add work to your schedule.
Outdoor Carpets & Rugs: Outdoor carpets or area rugs are made of sturdier synthetic materials like acrylic nylon or polypropylene. Thus, you can put them at the extreme end of the maintenance spectrum, as they would require the least effort to clean.
Managing Your Indoor Carpet & Rugs
Since the more expensive indoor carpet requires more attention while cleaning, here’s a list of things you need to do to manage them:
• Keep Them from Getting Wet
Moisture is the greatest enemy for your carpets and rugs. If a liquid is spilt on the carpet, the best thing to do is to use a paper towel or damp microfibre cloth to wipe it out immediately. Use only approved stain remover for the material of your carpet. That too only if necessary.
• Removing Mud Stains
Mud stains are easier to remove once they are dried. So, if you get mud on your carpet, let it dry then use a soft brush and vacuum to scoop the mud from the carpet. If the mud has left a stain, wipe it with a damp cloth.
• Vacuum Regularly
Vacuuming regularly, usually, twice a month, is a great way to keep the carpet and rugs dust free. Do not use an abrasive rotary brush head as this may damage the rug. Make sure to vacuum both the sides and clean the floor before putting the carpet back.
• Remove Snags with Scissors
If you experience snags in the carpet pulling them is not recommended. Instead use scissors to flatten them out to the height of the rest of the fabric.
• Check for Bugs and Moths
Bugs and moths are active enemies of a great carpet. You should take extra care with handmade carpets. Using bug and moth repellent once in a while throughout the house will definitely help. But do check for any infestations on the carpets during your regular cleaning sessions.
• Cleaning Your Expensive Carpet
It is always recommended to have professionals help you once in a while. But, for a regular cleaning every few months, you can use the simple steps below.
Please note that these steps apply to all carpets except shag, wool, silk and carpets with viscose fabrics:
1. Test the rug shampoo (wool-safe shampoo is a better choice here) in a corner of the rug. Colourfast carpets usually do well and do not bleed colours. Testing is all the more important for handwoven or vintage carpets.
2. Hose the carpet down at low pressure, make sure to wet it thoroughly.
3. Mix the wool-safe shampoo as per the instructions on the shampoo packaging.
4. Apply the shampoo mix and use the brush to ensure deep absorption (this should give you a lot of foam on the carpet).
5. Let it soak for 10-15 mins (or as per washing instructions on the shampoo bottle).
6. Increase the hose pressure and rinse the carpet thoroughly.
7. Remove excess water by applying mild pressure or use a wiper to shove the water away from the carpet.
8. Hang to dry, you may have to flip it a couple of times. If the rug has rich colours, you should avoid putting it under direct sunlight for long periods. Though, a little sunlight is good for the natural deodorising of the linen.
9. Vacuum the carpet to revive the fibres and softness. You can also use a soft dry brush to revive the compacted fibres.
Cleaning Shag, Wool and Viscose Carpets
One thing you would want to avoid with shag, wool or viscose carpets is getting them wet. These carpets can easily absorb a lot of water and will become very difficult to dry. Water is a complete no for viscose carpets as the material will react with water and may turn yellow.
Thus, wetting shag and wool carpets is recommended only when the dry wash method does not work. Viscose carpets should only have to go through the dry wash, and if that does not work, get professional help.
Here are the differences you should take care of while cleaning wool and shag rugs and carpets:
The recommended cleaning frequency for shag and wool carpets is about once in two to three months. However, it may go up or down based on the footfall it receives and how often it is maintained with a vacuum.
Similarly, viscose rayon carpets should be good with a quick dry wash every few months.
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