Are you renting out space to bugs?
Microscopic dust mites love living in your carpet’s fibers. In 1 square yard of carpet, there can easily be 100,000 dust mites! You also have to worry about other creepy crawlies, like carpet beetles, bed bugs, and the list goes on. If you want to keep your house bug free, you’ll have to step up your vacuuming game.
How often should you clean your carpets to keep bugs at bay? Twice a week is a good starting point. However, if you’re not cleaning your carpets the right way, you’ll wind up wasting your time. To help you out, we’ve created this short guide all about vacuuming, treating stains, and deep cleaning carpets.
Read on to learn the best house cleaning tips for your carpets!
Use a Deodorizer
First, you should consider using a deodorizer before you start vacuuming your carpets. If you have pets, we suggest you buy a deodorizer that’s made to help remove pet hair and smells.
When you’re applying the deodorizer, you’ll want to sprinkle it in a sweeping motion across the floor. Once you’ve used the deodorizer in every room, wait about 15-30 minutes before vacuuming it up.
The longer the deodorizer sits, the more effective it’ll be at removing unwanted smells. You’ll also find that using a deodorizer makes it easier for the vacuum to pick up things like pet hair, or small pieces of debris.
Always Vacuum Twice
Whether or not you’re going to use a deodorizer, you’ll still need to vacuum your floor at least twice per session to get the best results. However, before you start vacuuming, make sure the vacuum’s in the right setting. Oftentimes, vacuums will have a high, medium, and low carpet setting.
Don’t leave a carpet section until the vacuums have been run over that area at least twice. The first time you vacuum, it should be to pick up the first layer of debris and soil. Whereas the second time the vacuum passes over the carpet it’ll be able to picker deeper levels of grime.
If you’re not planning on treating stains or doing a deep cleaning, vacuuming twice is the last step you’ll need to finish your floors. However, if you’re serious about removing grime, then you’ll want to start the deep cleaning process.
Cleaning Past the First Layer of Grime
While deep cleaning your carpets does take longer than simply vacuuming them, it’s well worth the effort. Here are the supplies you’ll need to deep clean your carpet:
- Rag
- Cleaning solution
- Bucket of clean water
- Gloves
- Knee pads
- Fan
- Water filtration vacuum
If you don’t have the time to deep clean your carpets every month, then look into hiring a carpet cleaning company. If you have more than 1 room to clean, ask the company about getting a 3 room carpet cleaning special.
Begin Pretreating Stains
After using a deodorizer, and vacuuming up dirt and debris, you can start pretreating stains. Here are the supplies you’ll need to pretreat stains:
- ¼ cup White vinegar
- 1 tbsp liquid dish soap
- Water
- Spray bottle
Combine the white vinegar and liquid dish soap in a spray bottle, and then fill it up with water. Shake up your solution, and test it out on a small area of your carpet. Once you’re sure the solution won’t cause any adverse effects on your carpet’s material, you can begin applying it.
Liberally spray the solution over the stained area and wait about 15 minutes. While you’re waiting, go around your house and begin pretreating any other stained spots. Next, you’ll want to dry up the solution with a clean rag, until the stain’s completely gone. Make sure you’re blotting the stain, and not rubbing it deeper into the carpet.
Use a Water Filtration Vacuum Cleaner
Moving on, water filtration vacuum cleaners are a must-have if you plan on deep cleaning your carpets on your own. Similar to a regular vacuum, a water filtration design will use a combination of brush rolls and suction to clean. However, instead of using a man-made filter, the vacuum will use water to get the job done.
Water filtration vacuums are especially great because they usually work with different cleaning solutions. Oftentimes, water filtration vacuums will have a compartment where you can pour in the cleaning formula.
As you begin going over the carpet, the solution will come out of the vacuum as you push it forwards. When you back the vacuum up over the same piece of carpet, it’ll suck up the water and solution.
You’ll probably have to refill the vacuum solution reservoir once or twice, depending on how much carpet you have. You’ll also have to dump out the dirty water that the vacuum’s sucking up. When you dump out the water, take a moment to flip the vacuum on its side.
Looking at the brush roller, use your hand to pick off any debris that’s hanging on. After running the vacuum over all of your carpets, the next step is to let everything air dry. Finally, you can run the vacuum over the carpets once more for good measure. However, this time make sure it’s in vacuum mode, so you don’t get your floors wet all over again.
Make Cleaning Your Carpets Easy
As long as you’re willing to take the time to do things right, cleaning your carpets doesn’t have to be hard. However, if you procrastinate any longer, your floors are just going to get worse! Pick a day this week you can commit to having your floors deep cleaned.
Whether you’re going to do the cleaning yourself or hire a professional cleaning company, you’ll finally be able to breathe easier once the carpets are done. Are you ready to learn more helpful house care tips? Then explore the rest of what this site has to offer.
