5 Carpet Care Mistakes You Didn’t Know You Were Making

Despite your best efforts your carpets are likely to become victim to a host of spills, blemishes, and other accidents. You’ll therefore spend a great deal of time cleaning your carpet during its lifetime to ensure that it keeps the vibrancy and comfort it possessed the day it was first laid.

However, whilst regular maintenance will keep your carpet looking clean, mistakes are all too regularly made which can do more harm than good. So, whether it is a red wine stain on a cream carpet, unwelcomed dirt from guest’s shoes, or the artistic talents of toddlers displayed on the clean canvas of your floor, remember that regular maintenance using the right techniques and products will keep your carpets clean and looking like new.

Check out these common mistakes and follow our simple rules to ensure you get it right:

1. Not Acting Fast Enough

Quite simply the longer you leave the stain the tougher it is to remove. In fact 99% of all stains can be removed from your flooring if they are dealt with in the immediate aftermath of a spill.

As the liquid soaks into the carpet fibres and is absorbed into the carpet padding, a stain will chemically react with the carpet properties. Whilst quick reactions are good, we’d recommend not putting a carpet detergent on the spill or stain straight away. Make sure you blot away the stains with a dry cloth or paper towel first. We’d also vacuum the carpet prior to applying a cleaner once any moisture has been blotted up, to ensure any excess dirt is removed so that you don’t end up rubbing it further into the carpet fibres.

2. Vigorously Scrubbing a Stain

Forcefully cleaning a stain is an ineffective way to stop potential damage as you’ll most likely push the stain deeper into the carpet.

You can damage the carpet fibres by untwisting them and causing them to fray. As mentioned previously you should use a blotting action, with a dry cloth or paper towel, instead.

3. Using the Wrong Cleaning Product

Using the wrong cleaning detergent can lead to permanent damage as well as discolouration. Always use a specific carpet cleaning product and not just a general cleaner. Make sure you research before purchasing and using a new cleaning product on your carpet as well as following the manufacturer guidelines provided.

When using a new cleaning solution for the first time you should always prepare a test patch to assess how the chemical will react to your carpet. Find a hidden area of carpet to test the product on to ensure it doesn’t bleach the colour or damage the carpet’s fibres.

4. Don’t Over Clean

As we often hear, less is more. Using an abundance of chemicals doesn’t necessarily contribute better to the cleaning process. In fact over saturating your carpet with cleaning products can lead to carpet damage and a build-up of dirt attracting residue.

The logic may seem odd, but a soap’s cleaning power comes from its ability to interact with water and remove dirt and stains from your carpets. Using more soap than water will likely result in more residue to wash away and could lead to lasting damage to the carpets fibres. Think about it, if the job of a detergent is to attract dirt, any residue left in the carpet will simply act as a dirt magnet.

You might think that you are doing your carpet justice by cleaning it frequently, but over cleaning can do just as much damage. Too many steam cleans, shampoos, and solutions to you carpet will not only damage fibres but can also wear out your carpet’s stain resistance.

5. Never Having Your Carpet Professionally Cleaned

Professional carpet cleaning is a necessary part of extending the life of your carpets. The majority of carpet manufacturers recommend that carpets are cleaned every 12 to 18 months by a certified technician to maintain the warranty.

Rivendell Carpet Care and Maintenance

At Rivendell we endeavour to provide you with a host of care & maintenance advice to ensure your carpet and flooring looks as good as the day it was first laid. With our experts on hand to advise you on the best ways to care for your flooring, just give us a call on 0117 963 7979 for more information.

Categorised in: For Home, Hints and Tips

This post was written by Binks