5 Tips for Maintaining Your Carpets Between Cleanings

Clean carpet. There’s nothing quite like the soft feel and freshness in the air after having your carpet professionally steam cleaned. So what can you do to make that clean feeling last longer?

These 5 tips are also great for all newly installed carpets

Tip #1 Take off your shoes

This is a biggie. Many cultures around the world have always known that the bottom of your shoes track in a lot. In Oregon, many households have ditched mom’s old school “Leave your shoes at the door” sign, but it’s time for a resurgence.

Old habits die hard, but Pinterest has tons of great storage ideas to help you find a way to store them without being an eyesore. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want a snuggly pair of house shoes, or an excuse to buy new sandals that live inside only?

Tip #2 Regular Vacuuming

So what’s regular you ask? Depends on your unique living situation but a minimum of once a week is important. This is to help remove the layer of soil hanging out on your carpet from normal daily life. We recommend high traffic areas like front door entryways, hallways and stairs be done a minimum of two times weekly (stairs, ugh!).

Over time this really helps avoid letting the dirt, dust, food crumbs and pet hair from getting deeply imbedded in the fibers.

Tip #3 Deal with new stains immediately

There are lots of different kinds of stains, but most of them are either food related or pet urine related. Check out this article if you have pet urine issues.

Take an 8oz glass and fill it with water, pour over the area the dilute and flood the stain. Immediately follow the water with a thick or folded towel and press firmly on the area for 30-45 seconds. DO NOT RUB THE STAIN. Rubbing can force whatever spilled into the carpet fibers.

When you remove the towel, if there is still color from the offending food or liquid, repeat the process. Only repeat once so you do not over saturate the area and get water into the pad.

Tip #4 Open doors when possible

This might sound funny, but stick with me. Air is always moving through your home, and under your door ways. Sometimes there is not much space between the bottom of your door and the top of your carpet.

In summer your doors will expand because of the heat, and you’ll notice they fit tighter. This means the bottom is also coming closer to the carpet. Why does it matter? Your carpet is made of fibers that will act like a filter.

As the air passes through that space those fibers will catch the small dust particles. This can cause what’s called filtration lines, and they look like dark dirt stains. And that’s because they are. Filtration lines also happen when you have cold air returns in your floor with central air heating.

So if you open your doors, when possible, it means the air can flow freely and not only through that small space to cause lines.

Tip #5 Professionally steam clean your carpets every 12 to 18 months

Even the best kept homes accumulate dirt, skin cells, dog hair, food crumbs and dust mites. It’s the reality of every home that’s lived in (and even those that aren’t!).

Professional steam cleaning your carpets using hot water extraction is the most effective way to get the deep dirt out. Many people ask how long until you can walk on carpet after cleaning. It depends on the thickness of your carpet, your inside temperature and air flow. An average of 6-12 hours is pretty normal.

Steam cleaning is also the only method recognized by carpet manufacturers to uphold the original warranty and required as yearly maintenance.

*bonus tip - Cleaning your air ducts

To truly improve both air quality and reduce the fine dust particles that settle in your carpet, cleaning your ducts are a must.

Your home will be in tip top shape when you follow these suggestions and maintain your carpets in between professional cleanings.