Do you remember when your carpets were new? How do they look now in comparison? Can you even tell what the original color was anymore? Often times, carpets get dirty and worn from frequent use, giving your home a dingy quality and lowering its value. However, keeping your carpets looking new, clean, and stain-free can be a pretty simple process if you know the right steps.

Vacuum often. Vacuuming is the first step to cleaning carpets and also the step most often avoided by home-owners. Vacuuming is at least a bi-weekly process, not just something to do when the carpets look dirty, and regularly using a vacuum before you start to notice the crumbs, dirt, and traffic lines is the only way to keep carpet looking new.

Dirt is an abrasive like sandpaper. Every time you walk across your carpet, you have the chance of grinding dirt into the fibers. What you want to do is catch the dirt while it is still on the surface of the fibers and before it gets too ingrained. Daily vacuuming picks up dirt easily and can be done repeatedly. It can also have many health benefits, like removing allergens and sucking up any potentially harmful debris. After all, while clean carpets are helpful from an aesthetic point of view, they also promote healthiness.

Shampoo your carpets. Shampooing should be done twice a year, more so if there is someone living in your home who is often around toxins such as paint, pool supplies, laboratory chemicals, or heavy duty cleaners. Anyone working around these toxins has the chance of bringing them home on their hair, skin, shoes, or clothing, so shampooing becomes even more important under these circumstances.

Shampooing involves moving some furniture and purchasing or borrowing a carpet cleaning machine. Many stores, including grocery stores, have carpet shampooing machines that they loan out, so getting one shouldn’t be a problem. However, these machines often leave the floor wet and inaccessible for a day or two, so they should never be used during the winter months when mold problems might occur as a result.

Watch for stains. If you see a stain or cause a stain, take care of it quickly; don’t let it set into the carpet. Blot it by pressing down with a wet cloth until the stain has diminished or is completely removed. You can also use a carpet stain removal solution, which can be found at just about any retail store.

However, you will need to watch out for potentially harmful carpet cleaning chemicals and stain removers. Read all of the warning labels before using anything on your carpet, as some chemicals are toxic to pets and children. Also, certain cleaning chemicals can cause discoloration and stiffness in your carpet and can even attract more stains than they remove. Each stain remover is different and they normally act differently in different types of carpet. So, it’s always a good idea to get recommendations from friends who have the same type of carpet you do before choosing a cleaner.

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