subject: Maintaining and Taking Care of Carpet [print this page] Maintaining and Taking Care of Carpet Maintaining and Taking Care of Carpet
Just like any other surfaces, the most convenient way to maintain or take care of a carpet is to avoid getting it too dirty in the first. If an entire room is covered with a carpet, it is ideal to have rugs at the entrances of your home. You may also want to keep kids and animals off the surface areas, and get the kids to eat and drink elsewhere.
Many people try to clean the surface with a cloth or sponge. Some of us even use hair dryers to dry the spill out. Not really a good idea -- doing so will make the stain stick, and it'll make the spill area look irritating, and even destroy its fibers.
The best way of taking care of a liquid carpet stain is to use a towel or sponge to blot up (not rub) any liquid you can get. Take the following steps for the different kinds of stains. pick from and choose the best carpet cleaning solution for your situation:
Grease/Ink: Mob the stain with some dry-cleaning fluid, then blot with a warm water and dishwashing liquid mixture. Start from the edges of the stain and work your way inward, then let the solution or fluid stay for five minutes.
Juice/Wine: Use a mix of detergent and lukewarm water. (Ammonia also works, if the smell isn't too offensive to you.) Then use a sponge to apply some club soda to the stain, then apply more lukewarm detergent water.
Cover the stain with paper towels and leave it overnight. In the morning, remove the paper towels and brush the stain away. You can also clean any parts of the stain that may have dried up and solidified using a vacuum cleaner.
It's a good idea to clean the surface once or twice a year. First remove the furniture, and vacuum the whole surface area. You may find stains after doing this, after which you can use the cleaning tips mentioned above.
After taking care of any stains, use a home carpet cleaner to clean up the entire surface area at once.
Always use clean water and change it often before it gets too dirty. You can then replace your furniture after the entire surface area has dried completely.
