Want to save cash while maintaining carpets that look amazingly lavish? Discover smart ways to make your carpets gleam without spending a fortune!
Key points
- Vacuuming your carpets regularly is one of the best ways to keep them clean and extend their lifespan.
- Try spot cleaning spills and stains as soon as possible to avoid permanent damage.
- Use mats and runners in high-traffic areas to reduce the amount of dirt tracked onto your carpets.
- Enforcing a no-shoes policy throughout your home can help prevent dirt from making its way into your carpets.
- Moving furniture around regularly can help prevent buildup of dirt, dust, and debris under them.
- Focus on cleaning only the areas where there is a lot of foot traffic to save time and money.
Vacuum Often
Vacuuming your carpets on a regular basis is one of the easiest and most effective ways to maintain their cleanliness and extend their lifespan. Vacuuming removes dirt, pet hair, grime, mites, and other debris that can damage the carpet fibers and become embedded deep within the fibers or pad. Vacuum high-traffic areas at least twice a week and the entire carpeting once a week.
When vacuuming, move slowly over each area a few times to ensure all loose debris is removed. It’s also recommended that you use a vacuum with an adjustable beater brush to thoroughly pick up dirt from the carpet’s surface and deep within the fibers. Remember to empty the bag or canister after each use for efficient operation.
Try Spot Cleaning
Spot cleaning is one of the key ways to save money on professional carpet cleaning. Rather than an all-over deep clean, spot cleaning targets specific areas that need extra attention. This can often be done with a store-bought carpet cleaner or a solution mixed at home. Spot clean any spills or stains as soon as you can to minimize the risk of permanent damage and the resulting need for extensive deep cleaning.
When spot cleaning, make sure to protect yourself by wearing gloves and goggles to avoid getting chemicals on your skin or in your eyes. Additionally, make sure to test any store-bought cleaner in an inconspicuous area of your carpet before using it, especially when dealing with fabrics that are susceptible to fading or staining easily (e.g., silk, wool).
To get the best possible results from spot cleaning, use a combination of vacuuming and scrubbing the affected area with either steam or detergent – whichever is appropriate for the type and age of your carpets – before blotting with a dry towel or absorbing cloth.
Use Mats and Runners
Using mats and runners in high-traffic areas of your home can help reduce the amount of dirt and debris that gets tracked onto your carpets. Place floor mats at all entrances to reduce the amount of grit, sand, mud, or dirt that comes into your home. Try to vacuum any accumulations of debris off them regularly. When possible, place carpet runners over the highest traffic paths in your home, such as stairways and hallways.
This helps protect the more expensive wall-to-wall carpets from the damage resulting from constant foot traffic. In some cases, runners can also help define pathways in a room and give an extra decorative element to your decorating schemes.
Enforce a No-Shoes Policy
Enforcing a no-shoes policy throughout your home is one of the best ways to prevent dirt and other debris from making its way into your carpets. Consider leaving a basket of slippers or nonmarking shoes in your entryway so that guests can easily slip out of their shoes when they enter the home. You should also remind them to do so before they proceed farther into the house.
Furthermore, newspapers and welcome mats can be placed near doorways for added protection against spills and mud tracked in from the outdoors. By keeping dirt and dust out of the rug, you will significantly reduce the amount of time you must spend cleaning it and thus minimize costs.
Move Your Furniture
Moving your furniture can be a great way to save money on carpet cleaning. Heavy pieces of furniture can trap dirt, dust, and debris under them which accumulates over time. By regularly moving your furniture away from the wall, you can help prevent this buildup and provide areas where deep cleaning can be done more easily. This also helps to protect the underlying padding of the carpet from becoming matted down due to long-term exposure to heavy objects.
Additionally, furniture legs can damage carpets over long periods of time by trapping moisture close to the surface of the carpet fibers which increases the chance of mold growth. If you cannot move large pieces of furniture yourself, it’s a good idea to hire professional cleaning company to help ensure that it is moved without causing damage.
Clean Only Traffic Areas
A cost-effective way to maintain your carpets and extend their life is to focus on cleaning only the areas where there is a lot of foot traffic. This could include hallways, stairs, family rooms, and other entry points in your home. Vacuuming isn’t enough to keep these areas clean, so occasionally having a professional service come to deep clean them will help maintain the carpets in these areas.
Cleaners can employ several techniques for deep cleaning high-traffic areas:
- Steam cleaning – Hot water is mixed with a detergent solution and pressure pumped into carpets to lift dirt particles out of fibers
- Dry cleaning – A dry compound is spread over the carpet and agitated into fibers then vacuumed away
- Bonnet Cleaning – Absorbent pads are placed on a rotary floor machine which uses heat and moisture to give carpets an extra deep clean
- Foam Cleaning – A foaming detergent is applied with hand scrubbing and then vacuumed away once it has dried
If you have pets or children who track mud through the house, you may want to look into types of material that can handle frequent deep cleans with little wear or damage. Before you book a carpet cleaner for quality vehicle area service, make sure that it addresses your specific needs.
Conclusion
When it comes to saving money on carpet cleaning, the best approach is preventive maintenance. Regular vacuuming and spot cleaning can go a long way toward preventing deep-cleaning services from becoming necessary, helping save money in the process. Additionally, when deep-cleaning is necessary, researching all available options and evaluating their suitability for the carpet in question can help ensure costs are kept as low as possible. By following these steps, homeowners have a greater chance of being able to keep their carpets looking great at a minimal cost.