How to keep your carpet clean
You come back from a long day in the office, throw your shoes to the side contributing to your haphazard mess in the flat. You’ve been meaning to get the place cleaned and have been thinking about booking a domestic cleaner in London from Glimmr but you just haven’t scheduled the right time for it to happen as you’ve been working late and you’ve been busy organising your parents stay over for the week. You give yourself a break and pour yourself some red wine from the kitchen cabinet. You calmly walk into the living room, strolling effortlessly on the cream carpet you bought 2 months ago. Each step feels like you’re walking on marshmallows, god you love this carpet! You walk over to grab the remote from the table to turn on the TV as you place the glass of heavenly fruity red wine on the table ….and DUUUUNNCC!…..you’ve managed to spill your glass of red and gasp helplessly as the streams of red pour and drip like blood into your soft cream carpet…drip….drip….drip.
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Carpet spills are just one of many nuances in life you could do without yet many don’t know what to do when it occurs or think they know what to do but end up making the situation worse. In fact, the task of carpet cleaning itself is often rushed and not done thoroughly. Glimmr, London’s professional cleaning service, is here to give you tips on how to make the most out of a task you really don’t want to do. And if you really don’t want to do it nor have the time to do it, then we’re more than happy to do it for you!
Regular maintenance of your carpet in your home cleaning routine, such as vacuuming your carpet once a week at the minimum, would double its life. All carpets need care and attention to tackle that red wine you just spilt on your cream carpet or just daily build-up of dust and dirt from God knows where.
Get rid of the odour
In due time, carpets like clothes will hold onto odour if you don’t clean them but unlike clothes, carpets cannot simply be thrown into the washing machine, especially if its fixed to the floor boards! At glimmr.co.uk we suggest using cleaning powder. Sprinkle it generously and leave it for about 30 minutes, overnight even better, and then vacuum. You’ll notice the fresh smell right away but we don’t recommend sniffing your clean carpet like your clean laundry. Glimmr tip: Baking soda works equally if not better than branded carpet powder as a natural deodoriser.
Remove Carpet Stains
Now back to that spilt red wine, or your coffee spills or any other mysterious stains – keep them to yourself, we really don’t need to know. But what we do want to know is how do we get rid of them effectively and efficiently? For sticky stains like gum, harden them with ice and then remove, it’s so much easier! (yes you can use the same technique if you decide to stick a wad of chewed gum in your hair for whatever reason). For smelly stains, apply a 50:50 solution of warm water and vinegar to the area with a white cloth. Remember only blot/dab stains and never wipe; this prevents the stain from smudging or going deeper into the carpet.
Vacuuming Your Carpet
Vacuuming your carpet is a must and is a job that often lacks diligence. Carpets warm a home by adding softness, pattern and colour and so it’s important to keep them tip top. Regular vacuuming provides the first line of protection against dirt and dust which can damage carpet fibres. It’s worth clearing the room of small items, especially under furniture, to prevent damage to the mechanism or disposal of those items. Further, dust the blinds, furniture, windowsills and baseboards first – falling dust can then be vacuumed up. If you’ve got pets, you’d want to vacuum 2-3 times a week! It’s advised to vacuum horizontally and vertically as carpet fibres point in all directions.
Our General Carpet Cleaning Advice
I thought I’d end this piece on some general advice to take away. Firstly, keep mess-making substances away from your carpet. It’s for this reason most forgo wall to wall carpets in kitchens and dining areas. Consign as much eating and drinking to non-carpeted areas as possible. Secondly, remove footwear before walking on your carpet. In Japan and many parts of the South Asia region it is customary to remove your footwear before entering the main abode. Doing so will not only remove a major cause of soiled carpets but also let you really appreciate the luxury of walking on a comfortable and foot friendly floor. Third, make sure pet trays or cages are placed in an easier to clean flooring such as tile or laminate. If not possible, then a rubber litter mat would prevent spills from being tracked on the carpet. Lastly, contain any messes that do occur as soon as they happen. The longer the stain is left to set, the more difficult it will be to remove.