When considering relocation to your new home, there are a number of factors you should take into account – from the budget to the packing, the choice of movers, you name it.
More often than not, carpets and/or rugs are not given a second thought.
In this piece, we shed light on carpet-cleaning best practices you need to observe when cleaning your rugs after settling down in your new home.
f you’ve had the carpet for years, you should have an idea of what works and what doesn’t.
Carpets by their very nature require different cleaning methods from other surfaces. Vacuuming is everybody’s first line of defence when it comes to carpet care.
However, this may not be enough and techniques like deep-cleaning and stain removal may be required to keep them spic and span.
As a general rule, carpets should be deep-cleaned at least once every 9-12 months; more frequently for those in high traffic areas.
If you have kids or pets, this may be too long a time, though, so you might need to clean them at least 3-4 times a year.
Most manufacturers have instructions on how to clean their carpets, so if you’re afraid of damaging the carpet or not sure which approach is best for a particular rug, this is a nice place to start.
Test for Colorfastness
Before you start the cleaning, make sure that you test for colourfastness. Colourfast carpets in general will not bleed or change when removing stains.
Colourfastness helps you decide the best method to clean your carpet at home in terms of what products, methods, or machines to use.
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How to Clean your Carpet
Before you embark on carpet cleaning, ensure that all your furniture, subfloor, and furniture padding are well protected.
To commence the cleaning process, ensure that the carpet is nicely vacuumed. After this, treat all soiled areas and stains according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.’
If the carpet requires deep cleaning, you can either rent a carpet cleaning machine (assuming you don’t already have one) or engage the services of a professional carpet cleaner.
A method like wet extraction should be left to professionals because if the carpet doesn’t dry within 24 hours, mildew and mould could develop and end up damaging the floor underneath.
Carpet cleaning using the water extraction method
A vast majority of home water cleaning systems are steamer cleaners, commonly known as water extraction units.
These work on the principle of introducing a solution into the carpet then sucking the dirty solution back.
The best of these machines should be the ones that do not require a clean water connection and should be relatively powerful.
Caution should be taken so as not to overwet the carpet when using the water extraction method. Otherwise, you risk shrinkage, discolouration, and bad odours.
Carpet cleaning using the dry extraction method
This method uses chemicals and dry machines which are pricier than the steam cleaners.
If you’re employing this technique, you need to first spread a dry super-absorbent
the compound over the dirty carpet then proceeds to vacuum it with the dry carpet cleaning machine.
If you are not too sure how to go about this, you can always consider the option of getting professional carpet cleaner to do it for you.
Engaging carpet cleaning professionals
For those families with brightly-coloured carpets, kids or pets, buying a carpet-cleaning
the machine may be more cost-effective. Rather than hire a professional to clean your carpets several times a year, consider investing in your own machine.
Alternatively, you can always rent a carpet-cleaning machine if yours is not up to snuff.
Then again, if you’re going to rent the machine, you might as well hire the full service of a professional carpet cleaner as they are more versed with the art of carpet cleaning.
Evaluate both options (not just the cost) and decide which is better for you.
Looking long-term, though, you will find that investing in your own equipment will be the most economical option.
