Looking after your carpet is extremely important; therefore, you should constantly take care of your carpet. When you clean your carpet and remove all the dirt and stains, you are maintaining your carpet’s original texture and increasing its durability therefore making last for a very long time. Cleaning your carpet and maintaining is not as hard as most people think. All you have to do is follow the following procedures in this guide in order to make sure that your carpet will last for a very long time.

• Here are the different types of problems that you might face and have to get rid of:

Staining

Stains are discolored spots on the carpet. Usually chemicals react with carpet fibers that leave a huge spot thought to be or could be permanent. Stains usually happen when the dye or chemical material penetrates the fibers and so the color of the chemical material reaches into the carpet fibers and gets absorbed therefore changing all the fiber colors near the place of the stain. Some types of fibers are stained more easily than other types of fibers. For example, nylon absorbs dyes and chemicals more than any other type of fiber. On the other hand, polyester does not absorb stain easily. The best way to prevent a stain from happening is to make sure that you clean it as soon as possible. However, before you apply and chemical detergent make sure that you read the carpet manual and that the detergent matches with the material you have.

Soiling

Soiling is typically similar to staining being left on the carpet but it occurs because of a residue or dirt on the carpet fibers, which causes to dirt in the form of soil to accumulate. Not only does soiling happen because of dirt in the form of soil, but it is also because of an oily substance that accumulates as well on the carpet fibers. The oily accumulation can be not an immediate spot but it can happen due to accumulation of more than one type of dirt. It can happen from the oil from our skin, the spilling of an oil-based product, walking barefoot, entering the house with shoes on. Similar to staining some carpet fibers are soiled more than others stain, for example, olefin is more prone to being soiled than other types of carpet fibers. Soiling can be prevented by making sure that you constantly clean the carpet fibers and make sure that the cleaning equipment like the vacuum are free of any debris or dirt. You should also make sure that you don’t walk barefoot at home so that the oil from the skin doesn’t accumulate. Make sure to also remove your shoes before entering the house so that the dirt and soil doesn’t accumulate from under the shoes coming from outside.

Carpet Crush Marks

New carpet can show different shades of dark and light areas. This usually happens when you purchase the carpet and it is packed in rolls so the weight of the roll will affect the fibers causing them to bend and create crush marks. You can easily get rid of crush marks by vacuuming the carpet, walking on the carpet for a period of time, and just waiting for time to pass by because it is usually just a small phase that needs time to make it disappear.

Fading

Carpet like any other material can fade and change in color with time. Carpet fibers usually fade and change in color because of high exposure to sunlight. Some types of carpet fade more than other types of carpet but in general, you should make sure that you do not expose your carpet to too much sunlight. If you prefer to have, the windows always open in the room and like having your house exposed to sunlight all the time, it is recommended to place UV protection on the glass or you can use curtains and binders as well. Usually the edge of the room near the window is the place that receives the most amount of sunlight therefore you can prevent fading of your carpet by placing tiles on the edges. Last but not least you can go for carpets that are stained specially to protect the color from fading in areas where there is a large amount of sunlight. There are types of carpet for example nylon carpets that are particularly made to be “fade resistant”

Steps to clean your carpet

Removing furniture

Start the cleaning process by removing all the furniture in the room. Remove anything in the way that could cause any obstacles when cleaning the carpet because leaving the furniture left and uncleaned will cause the accumulation of dirt and sand. In the worst case scenario, instead of removing the furniture you can place the furniture in the middle of the room so that you can clean all around. But always make sure that you dust your furniture so that the dirt doesn’t escape to the flooring.

Removing stains from your carpet

Removing stains from your carpet is way easier than you think. Below are tips that can help you get rid of stains the right way:

The first and most important step is to clean the stain immediately. The more time you wait to clean the spill the harder it would be to get rid of it.
If you faced the problem of having a food spill, make sure you remove all the solid material with a spoon or a knife, then whatever liquid is left you can use chemical detergents to remove it depending on the carpet fiber. If your carpet fiber can’t be cleaned using certain chemical detergents, go for the simplest best choice which is warm water.
Make sure you check the stain removing solvents and detergents are approved, and when you apply them make sure that you apply a small amount on the specific area that is stained and clean it with a cloth.
Watch out for any color change and make sure that you don’t apply any chemicals if you noticed any color change, you must consult an expert depending on the type of fiber used.

Keeping your carpet fresh

Follow these simple tips to make sure that your carpet remains brand new:

Clean your carpet regularly using the noninvasive cleaning methods like vacuuming for example to prevent the dirt and soil from accumulating in the carpet piles and fibers.
Clean your carpet professionally every 12 - 18 months depending the traffic level, staining and use of the carpet.
If there were any snatches coming out of the carpet make sure you cut them using scissors instead of leaving them and causing the entire fiber to being pulled out. Make sure you take extra care in this step especially if you have any pets that cling into snatches coming out of carpet fibers./li>
In case of burned fibers, depending on the burn you need to take care of the carpet. If the burn was only on the surface you can simply cut it using scissors, if not then you might have to remove the complete carpet pile and replace it.