How (And How Often) To Wash Your Carpets & Rugs

This is a question we get asked often. Whether you have wall-to-wall carpets or area rugs, it can be hard to tell how often you need to wash them. Carpets get dirty pretty fast, especially in busy homes with high foot traffic, kids and pets. Even if you live alone, your shoes, tracking your bike into the house and even having the windows open can all contribute to the dirt in your carpets. Here we explain how to wash your carpets and rugs and how often you should be doing it.

Vacuum Regularly

Your carpets and rugs can be kept clean if you make an effort to vacuum regularly. Vacuuming helps reduce the amount of pet hair, dirt, crumbs, dust and other debris that collects due to normal traffic, pets, food, etc. Vacuuming at least twice a week will help cut down on dirt and allergens, so your carpets are kept reasonably clean. However, a few things to consider to make sure you are doing it often enough to suit your home and lifestyle. Here’s a breakdown to help you find the schedule right for you:

• If you have pets, you really should vacuum the areas they frequent daily
• Rooms with average use can be cleaned weekly
• High-traffic areas should be vacuumed every few days
• Rooms rarely used can be cleaned twice a month or so

Households with kids often need to be vacuumed daily, as you don’t want them crawling or sitting on dirty carpeting. This schedule will help reduce dirt and allergens substantially.

Shampooing

Carpets need a deep cleaning shampoo once a year to remove all the deep-down debris that can make you sick and irritate allergies and asthma. A good rule of thumb is to follow this schedule based on use and who lives in your home:

• Households with Kids: Kids are not only messier, but they tend to get down on the floor more often. You will want to vacuum at least every few days, or even daily, to keep the carpets clean enough to lie on and then top this up with a shampoo or steam cleaning every six months or so.
• Households with Pets: Pets shed fur and dander and can carry in all kinds of dirt and germs into the home on their paws and fur. Vacuuming daily is advised in homes with allergies and at least every few days for homes without allergy sufferers. Your carpets should then be shampooed, or steam cleaned every three to six months. Messes should be cleaned ideally with a steam cleaner immediately to remove germs and reduce the risk of odours and staining.
• Households with Light Colored Carpets: To keep light-coloured carpets light coloured, you need to vacuum twice a week and shampoo at least twice a year. You can also just clean based on how dirty they look, depending on how much traffic you have in the home, whether you have pets or kids, and how “spilly” you are.
• Households with Allergy Sufferers: Carpets allow allergens to build up when not vacuumed frequently enough. Using a vacuum with a HEPA filter is a must, as this is the best way to reduce allergens in your carpet. You should vacuum daily, and shampoo or steam clean your carpets every two or three months.
• Households with Smokers: The tar and nicotine from cigarettes cling to the fibres in your carpet. This results in that distinct odour and can make the air in your home less than healthy. You should be vacuuming every few days and then shampooing or steam cleaning every three months for heavy smokers and light to moderate smokers every six months.

Households with pets, allergies, kids and smokers are best using deep cleaning services for their shampooing or steaming.

How to Clean Your Carpets

Follow these tips to keep your carpets fresh and clean:

Vacuuming

• Make sure you vacuum with the right setting suited to the pile of your carpets, as this ensures the suction is working its hardest
• Especially if you have allergies or pets, if you can, choose a vacuum with HEPA filters.
• Vacuum in one direction slowly and then pull back, working your way across the room both north and south, and then east and west.

Shampooing

• Make sure you are not saturating your carpet with water and shampoo as it will stay in the padding and not dry properly.
• Always vacuum before shampooing.
• Follow the instructions on the label, as well as for operating the steamer or shampooer.
• Consider hiring a deep cleaning service to avoid damaging your carpeting or making them too wet so it can’t dry properly.
• When using a new carpet cleaning product, always do a spot check under a chair or the couch first to ensure it doesn’t bleach or stain the carpet.
• Spot clean stains first to make sure you get as much colour out of the carpet as possible.
• Don’t scrub stains as this can force the stain deeper into the fibres – always “blot” the area instead.
• Only use white clothes to clean the carpet to avoid transferring the dye from the cloth into the carpet.
• Always clean inwards when working on a stain, or else you will increase the size of the stain.

The best way to avoid stains is to clean up messes and spills immediately. Warm water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid can do wonders to remove just about any stain. First, blot the stain to pick up as much of the liquid as possible, then use a clean white cloth with soapy water to blot the remainder of the stain, working from the outside in. Let it sit a bit, and then use a cloth with water only to blot away the soap residue.

These tips will help keep your carpets clean, fresh and looking their best.

If you would like to hire us for our deep cleaning services, call Maid4Condos at (647) 822-0601 or contact us here.