The Best Way to Clean Your Carpets

If you have carpet in your home, then you probably know just how dirty it can get. Those carpet fibers seem to attract particles and debris like a magnet!

In looking at how to properly clean your carpet, it pays to have regular steam cleanings on a yearly basis, but everyday upkeep is just as important for the look and health of the carpet you live with each day.

Here is an official Maid Zen resource for keeping your carpets clean and healthy.

What is Carpet?

Carpet is a woven textile floor covering for different rooms in your home or even on your stairs. People enjoy the padded plush feel of carpet, which can even warm up your home to a certain extent because those fibers hold onto heat better than tile or hardwood floors. Carpet is used primarily as a sound dampener or to achieve a specific design aesthetic.

The Different Types of Carpet

Not all carpet is plush and luxurious though; there are many different types of carpet to choose from that range in durable, utilitarian styles to fuzzy and soft.

When categorizing different styles of carpet, you have to look at a carpet’s “pile.” The pile is just the thickness of the fibers. Some are cut style, looped, or even a combination of the two.

The textures are where it gets more complicated when looking at different types of carpet. In cut styles, you have Saxony, which is a smooth, plush style with cut loops. It’s one of the most common types of carpet out there – in fact, you probably have Saxony in your home or apartment. It’s relatively low profile and often tan or beige in color.

 

 

On the contrary, Shag carpet has very long fibers. Some might say that Shag had it’s heyday back in the 70s and 80s, but it’s still a relatively common type of carpet.

 

 

 

Frieze carpet is right in the middle of the two with longer twisted pile style of carpet.

 

 

 

 

For looped carpets, you don’t see the loose ends the way you do with the cut pile. The most common type of looped carpet is called Berber and it consists of patterned loops of varying heights. It’s commonly found in office or commercial applications and is extremely low-profile. Some residences may have a combination of cut and looped pile in different patterns and colors for even more variety in your home. Knowing the style and construction of your carpet will allow you to make better choices on cleaning it right.

The Types of Tools You Need to Clean Your Carpet and Carpet Cleaning Tips

To remove allergens, soiled areas, and debris you’ll need a few different tools to clean your carpet optimally.

  • A Good Vacuum – You’ll need a solid vacuum for dry extraction. Ideally, your vacuum will have different settings for the style of carpet you have, short or long fibers. It’s up to you on how often you want to dry vacuum your carpet. When you have pets or kids, you may want to quickly vacuum every day or every other day.
  • Spot cleaner – It’s also helpful to have a spray-on spot cleaning product that can quickly attack big stains or spills that come up.
  • Steam cleaner – most people don’t have one lying around the house, so you’ll probably only want this if you’re embarking on a deep clean. You can usually pick one up at your local hardware store.

How to Properly Clean Your Carpets

In doing a deep clean, you’ll want to follow this process to keep allergens at bay and ensure that your carpet is as clean as possible.

Step 1: Spot Treat

If you have particular areas of wear and tear or you’re trying to tackle a specific stain or dirty area, you’ll want to prep the area with spot cleaner to make sure you loosen up the dirt. For pet-specific issues, you’ll want a pet odor remover as well.

Household items like club soda, diluted distilled vinegar, and hot water are great DIY cleaning products.

Step 2: Irritate

Once the cleaning product has had time to soak into the dirty area, take a hand towel or paper towel to and just irritate the area. You’re not trying to wipe the dirt clean – you just want to loosen the dirty area with even pressure. Give it about 15 minutes to soak before you start irritating.

Step 3: Dry Vacuum

This step is pretty self-explanatory, but there are some tips to make sure you get the most out of your dry vacuuming.

Make sure your vacuum isn’t clogged or bogged down with existing dust or hair. That can cause it to lose suction power and remove less dirt.

Depending on the type of carpet, you’ll want to make sure your vacuum height settings are done properly. For something like Shag, you’ll want a higher setting so that your vacuum doesn’t work too hard trying to clean too close to the base of a tall carpet. Same goes for Berber carpet – you’ll want to make sure that you have your vacuum on a low setting.

Lastly, you’ll want to go with and against the natural lay of your carpet to ensure that you’re getting all the debris.

Maid Zen Cleaning Service is Here for Your Carpet Maintenance Needs

Although Maid Zen no longer offers carpet cleaning services, we are here to help you maintain your carpets via recurring weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly cleanings. Maid Zen Cleaning Service is the premier home cleaning service in the North Houston area. Contact us today for an estimate of all your house cleaning needs, including that hard to clean carpet.

Over-the-Phone Estimates

To ensure quick service, we provide over-the-phone estimates. Give us a call at (832) 229-1053 or email us at contact@maid-zen.com.

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