If there is one aspect of home maintenance that is commonly overlooked, and sometimes forgotten on purpose, it’s cleaning the carpets. For many, it is a chore they dread, but for me, it’s a Zen experience that I actually look forward to.
Your carpets get vacuumed regularly, but there is still dirt and grime that gets stamped into it that a vacuum cannot get out. This is especially true at main thoroughfares such as the front door area and dining room where people are constantly going in and out.
When should you clean your carpets? I clean mine at least once a month, but I have three children and two dogs that love to track everything in that they can. It really depends on how traveled your house is and the conditions that the rugs are exposed to. A single person or a couple with no children in an upstairs apartment may not have many problems.
A family of five in a single-family home in the wet and snowy wilderness of the Midwest may be better off just buying their own carpet cleaner. After a few weeks of mud and dirt, your carpets can look dingy. During the summer, when there isn’t much water to worry about, you may not have to clean the carpets at all.
Once you decide to clean your carpet, the next decision is whether to buy a carpet cleaner or rent one. If you only clean it a few times a year, then just rent the carpet cleaner. A Rug Doctor or other brand tends to be more powerful and hold more water than the standard commercial ones sold in stores. If you clean the carpet once a month or more, then just buy the carpet cleaner and save yourself the time and effort of renting and lugging it to and from the store.
The actual act of carpet cleaning is simple. The machine shoots out a blast of hot soapy water into the floor and a vacuum sucks it back up again along with the dirt. The one thing you need to be careful of is that these types of cleaners will leave the carpet wet when finished, so place a fan in the room to help dry. Mold can develop overtime if the carpet doesn’t dry fast enough.
When finished, the carpet looks fantastic and is about three shades brighter than it was before.
Image Source: flickr.com/photos/juliesjournal/2993449571
Related posts:
- Organic Carpet Cleaner
- Carpet Deal in the New Year – Self Stick Carpet Tiles
- The Perfect Vacuum Cleaner
Related Posts:
Tags: apartment, carpet cleaner, carpet cleaning, carpets, chore, Clean, dining room, dirt and grime, door, dread, dry mold, everything, Home, home maintenance, house, love, person, purpose, rug doctor, rugs, single family, snowy wilderness, soapy water, thoroughfares, time, two dogs, upstairs apartment, vacuum, Zen, zen experience
