The truth is there is more to carpet cleaning than just vacuuming. Most carpet owners think regular vacuuming is enough to take care and maintain carpets. While regular vacuuming can retrieve some of the dirt and grime that have been trapped within the fibers of your carpet, there is more to maintaining carpets than meets the eye.
When cleaning and maintaining carpets, the best option is to call in the experts; the professional carpet cleaning company. These include checking the feel of the carpet if it is matted or feels sticky. Second, check if there is a noticeable change in color. Third, observe if the carpet has made grimy shapes around your furniture and lastly, take notice if every step creates a dust cloud. Professional carpet cleaners from Gold Coast, Australia advise to be on the lookout for four warning signs that it is time for a deep-seated cleaning job. But if circumstances arise that require you to do the cleaning on your own; here are five (5) carpet cleaning tips from the professionals that will get the job done:
- Vacuum the area you want to clean first to loosen dirt
If there is any value to vacuuming it can be found in the beginning stages of cleaning. Even commercially available vacuum cleaners are powerful enough to at least loosen up dirt and other substances that can prove to be a hindrance to carpet cleaning. The general rule is always go “dry” before you go “wet”. Remember that your carpet goes through plenty of use and abuse. It is bound to have plenty of dirt and grime as well.
If your vacuum cleaner has a rotating brushbar this will help release more deep-seated dirt within your carpet. Using a brushbar is a good idea in getting out as much debris as possible because it makes the carpet cleaning stage easier but more effective.
- Problem areas should be pre-treated
Pre-treating a problem area in the carpet before deep cleaning will greatly alleviate the condition of the stain and expedite the process of cleaning. Keep in mind that you may encounter stains that will seem impossible to remove even with the use of a steam cleaner or a reputable cleaning solution. Another benefit of pre-treating carpets is that it will remove unseen particles that will cause foul odors and discoloration in the material.
Here are a few of the more popular pre-treatment solutions that you can use for certain stains:
- Club Soda for stain caused by alcohol such as beer and wine.
- Ice for stuck chewing gum.
- Dishwashing detergent for grease.
- Hydrogen Peroxide for blood stains
- Understand how to use a steam cleaner properly
When using a steam cleaner, the cleaning solution is power driven deep within the carpet through the use of water-jet nozzles. The force of the water allows the cleaning solution to penetrate deeply into the carpet, through its fibers which greatly loosen up particles, substances, dirt components plus harmful grease build up. Steam cleaning is a more thorough approach than just regular vacuuming. The pros recommend steam cleaning every six months if you have a family of four.
Use a steady push and pull movement when starting the steam cleaning process. The difference between a regular vacuum cleaner and a steam cleaner are the water jet nozzles. If you are not familiar with the mechanics of the water jet nozzles, use a cadence that is slower than what you would use for a regular vacuum. Remember, you have to let the water jets do its job in delivering the solution through the carpet. A slow and steady motion will get this done. In conjunction with the brushes you can free up more trapped dirt and give your carpets a more thorough cleaning.
Another reason why the slow and steady approach works is because the steam helps dry the carpets better.
- Over-lapping strokes work best and frequently change direction
As with all things that turn out great results, the key is always patience. Carpet cleaning is done only a few times in a year. Make sure it is time well spent. Be patient and diligent in your efforts to keep your carpet clean.
When cleaning, overlap some of the passes you made with the carpet cleaner. This way you can make sure every square inch of your carpet has been cleaned with the highest degree of certainty. The purpose is to clean the carpet thoroughly but evenly. One tip from the professionals is to avoid cleaning the carpets in a side-by-side pattern as most people do when they mow the lawn. Unless your carpet has pinstripes for its design don’t follow the side-by-side strips.
Another important tip from the professionals: start your carpet cleaning from a considerable distance from the door. Then make your way by working backwards. This way you avoid stepping onto the area you have already cleaned.
- Once you’ve rinsed, dry your carpet fast
The final stage after cleaning the carpet with the solution is to rinse the carpet. There are carpet cleaner tools that come with a rinse mode. If yours doesn’t, don’t fret and just re-fill the water tank with lukewarm water and repeat the process in step #4 this time to thoroughly rinse the carpet.
Once you are satisfied with the work you have done cleaning and rinsing the carpet, you should shift your focus on drying the carpet fast. Steam cleaning works well because it has features that allow you to extract as much water as possible. It is of great importance to dry your carpet fast because mold particles travel by air. They can easily land on your carpet and all these need to survive and thrive in the environment is moisture or any other water source.
The professionals make carpet cleaning sound so easy. What you need to understand however, is that these tips are like trouble-shooting procedures; they can attend to the problem but the solution will lie with those who know the job best. Leave it to the professionals to give you the best advice to keep your carpets cleaned and well-maintained all the time. But the best option would be to let the professionals take over and have them manage the upkeep and condition of your carpet.