Preventing Wear and Tear
The best care you can provide for your carpet is the kind that minimizes the long-term effects of daily wear and tear, preventing some of the most common carpet complaints. The following care suggestions are simple procedures that are proven to prevent the premature appearance of wear in the forms of color loss and matting of the carpet tufts. While these procedures may sound basic, they are absolutely vital to the lasting beauty of your carpet.
Reduce Dirt Accumulation
- Use walk-off mats at entrances to reduce outside dirt from being tracked onto the carpet and clean mats weekly. Mats and runners will help reduce dirt build-up in heavy traffic areas. (Caution: latex-backed runners may yellow carpet.)
- Move furniture around from time to time, if possible, to allow for a more even distribution of foot traffic on carpets.
- Move furniture around from time to time, if possible, to allow for a more even distribution of foot traffic on carpets.
Remove Spills Promptly
Spills on carpets should be cleaned up promptly. Most spilled materials will stain or discolor carpet or can lead to increased soiling if not removed promptly. Pick up any solid matter, and blot liquid as quickly and completely as possible with absorbent cloth or paper towels. If a stain occurs, check with your dealer or the carpet manufacturer for best stain removal techniques.
Prevent Contact with Household Chemicals
Many household chemicals may permanently stain or remove color from your carpet. Depending on humidity and temperature conditions, these spots may not appear until several days or weeks after exposure to the chemical. Protect your carpet by taking special precautions to prevent any contact with these chemicals.
Carpet Cleaning
Once or twice a year, depending on traffic, spills, stains, etc., you may want to go beyond regular maintenance and clean your carpets thoroughly. You can rent equipment for this purpose at various places and do it yourself, or you can call in a professional carpet cleaning company. You may want to check your product warranty before you do either just to be sure you remain in compliance with warranty requirements.
Spills happen. Stains don't have to. Follow these general guidelines to prevent carpet blemishes whenever you have a mishap:
Basic Cleaning Steps For All Food and Beverage Spills
- Scoop up as much of the spill as possible, with a towel or a spoon.
- Blot the spot, don't rub or scrub. Gently press clean cloths into the stained area to remove moisture. Scrubbing can damage the fiber and set the stain into the carpet.
- Apply warm, not hot, water to the stained area and blot until the stain stops transferring to the cloth.
- If you can still see the stain, make a Detergent Solution by adding 1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid to one cup warm water. Don't use too much soap, because it's difficult to rinse out of the carpet.
- Apply the detergent solution, let sit five minutes, then rinse with clear warm water. Repeat until all the detergent is removed.
- Place layers of white paper towels on the spill to absorb the liquid. Weight down the towels with a non-staining glass or ceramic object. You can let them sit overnight.
- When the carpet is dry, vacuum to restore the texture.
- If you can see the stain after all this, repeat steps 3 through 7. It means the stain penetrated deep into the pile and has wicked up to the surface.
Fall Stain Removal Guide:
Cleaning Solutions:
For ink, crayon, felt-tip marker and rubber cement:
Dry Cleaning Fluid Solution
Use non-flammable dry cleaning fluid or a liquid spot remover from the grocery store or hardware store. (Note: Do not apply dry cleaning fluid directly to carpet. Apply first to a cloth and use the cloth to apply the fluid to the stain.)
Detergent Solution
Mix 1/4 teaspoon mild liquid dish detergent (with no optical brightners) in one cup of warm water.
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