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Carpet Care Advice & Tips
Why have your carpets cleaned regularly?
Our clothes need to be regularly washed to keep them fresh, clean, hygienic and stain free don’t they. We also know that if stains are left on clothes for too long before washing, that some stains can become fixed and will then remain after washing. The same is true of our carpets. Of course we are not suggesting you have your carpets cleaned as regularly as you wash your clothes but you will appreciate the point. We believe that cleaning your carpets every 12-18 months will keep them in tip-top condition, especially if they are light coloured. Soil, grit and grease are the major causes of reducing the life of your carpet fibres. This dirt also enables harmful mites and bacteria to set up home in the carpet, and did you know that 80% of all allergies are caused by dust mites and their excrement?
Unfortunately vacuuming alone will not effectively remove all the dust and dirt out of your carpet. Vacuuming alone removes only the top layer of dirt; the lower layer of dirt remains and the soil, grit and grease are trodden deeper and deeper into the pile.
A neglected carpet can contain up to four times its own weight in dirt! In the days before fitted carpets you would have taken your carpet outside at least once a year and beat it within an inch of its life to produce clouds of dust from it; you may even have washed and scrubbed it! Fitted carpets have put an end to all that exercise so we now have to get carpets professionally cleaned to achieve the same result. Nearly all modern carpets are cleanable and it’s a fact that the more often your carpets are cleaned, the more they will retain their new, clean, bright and pleasant smell – stains are simply easier to shift if they are not left for years.
Before:
The dirty lines are the result of the passage of air up between the floor boards.
After: A vast improvement! this type of soiling really benefits from regular cleaning. Had this carpet been cleaned more often it would be as good as new.
Stain Removal
These tips are usually very effective if you use them exactly as described. However you will not get the best results if the stain is old and has already been treated with a supermarket carpet cleaner. The cleaners you can buy off the supermarket shelf will usually ‘set’ the stain and although it may remove some of the stain, it is likely that the stain will re-appear some time later. Once a stain is set with a supermarket cleaner it will be much more difficult for a professional carpet cleaning service to remove – difficult but not impossible for us!
Water based stains – (tea, coffee, fruit juice, wine & some foods)
Act quickly – Soak up as much as possible.
Re-wet the stain – Using tepid water on a sponge or piece of cotton wool.
Blot – With dry absorbent material. (Terry towel, kitchen roll that is white or pale coloured so that no colour can come out of the cloth used etc.)
Dry – With a hairdryer keeping the dryer moving all the time and at least 6 inches away from the stain.
For dried in stains
Re-wet – using a mix made of 2 litres of tepid water mixed with a quarter of a teaspoon of carpet shampoo plus 1 egg cup full of clear vinegar, to be applied using a piece of cotton wool (wet it well but do not soak it)
Blot – with absorbent material (Terry towel, kitchen roll etc.) to get it as dry as you can
Dry – place 5-6 layers of kitchen roll on the whole damp area and place a telephone directory on top and allow to dry for 24 hours. This will absorb any stain in the base of the fibers that might surface during the drying process.
For greasy stains – (chocolate, butter, lipstick, oily foods)
Act quickly – Using a cotton bud soaked with surgical spirit apply to the edges working inwards to the centre.
Blot – With dry absorbent material. (Terry towel, kitchen roll etc.) until the stain no longer transfers onto the drying material.
Dampen – using 2 litres of tepid water mixed with a quarter of a teaspoon of carpet shampoo & 1 egg cup of white vinegar applied using a piece of cotton wool.
Blot – with dry absorbent material (terry towel, kitchen roll etc.)
Dry – with hairdryer keeping the dryer moving.
Whilst this stain removal guide may be simple and basic it has many advantages over a supermarket stain remover product. Many high street stain removers are made to cover a wide variety of stains and can therefore set a stain into the carpet fibers rather than remove it. In addition, many work on a bleaching principal that may harm the carpet colour. The tips above are a safer alternative and will therefore assist a professional carpet cleaner should their assistance be required.