Proper cleaning is the best way to extend the life of your carpet. Keeping your carpet clean doesn’t have to be a chore. Learn about carpet cleaning methods and easy spot removal tips to help you keep your carpet looking and feeling its best.
Cleaning Methods
Steam
The high temperatures required to make steam, along with the cleaning solution used, kills microorganisms living in your carpet, making it easy to extract the dirt and grime out of the carpet. Steam cleaning removes bacteria, dust mites, and odor. The most common drawback is its long drying time.
Chemical
Chemical cleaning uses a hot carbonation cleaning process that requires one-fifth the amount of water as steam cleaning. If you have pets or small children, make sure the solvent is a natural solution. With this method, you won’t have to worry about soap residue being left on the carpet, which will attract more dirt.
Dry
This method uses dry chemical compounds or cleaning solvents which are placed on carpet and break down whatever soil they find. A small amount of moisture from the application solution is used to help evenly spread the cleaning compound. It is not 100% dry.
Spot Removal
Water-Soluble Stains
You can use a simple cleaning solution made up of ¼ teaspoon of no bleach detergent (or white vinegar) mixed with 32 ounces of water. Ex. (food dyes, washable ink, alcoholic beverages, and jelly.
Special Water-Soluble Stains
Try one tablespoon of ammonia mixed with 1 cup of water. If that doesn’t work, you can try one part chlorine bleach to five parts water but only on solution-dyed carpets, such as polypropylene; the bleach will harm other types of carpet. If you have wool or wool-blend carpet, use mild detergent and water only. Ex. (blood, tea, wine, coffee, vomit, chocolate, and mustard).
Fat, Oil, Wax & More
Place a paper towel over your carpet where the spot sits. Using an iron on a warm temperature setting, go over the paper towel with the iron. The wax, fat, or oil should come up off the carpet and transfer to the paper towel.
For more information, learn how to remove the 20 most common stains step by step with our Complete Carpet Cleaning Guide!