Cleaning your carpets can freshen up your home, more than any other simple cleaning task.
Bringing your once dull and lifeless carpet back to its vibrant best is a very cheap, easy, and impactful way to revive a room that was starting to lose its appeal.
Throughout this article, we will discuss the different steps you will need to follow to clean your carpet or conduct carpet repair and restore it to its former glory.
Get Your Vacuum Ready
Before you do anything, you need to first make sure your vacuum cleaner is functioning at its peak. If you neglect your vacuum cleaner it will slowly decrease in its efficacy making it harder to vacuum, and less effective.
Giving your vacuum cleaner a good clean can make it work like new, and you will wonder why you ever let it get so dirty, to begin with. When a vacuum cleaner gets dirty, it may still suck up small simple particles, but you might feel like you are just pushing the dirt around more than you are sucking it up off the ground.
To prevent your vacuum cleaner from getting this way you should empty it regularly and clean the filter, but if you have neglected that for some time, then these steps might help you revive it, and improve its functioning.
The process will vary depending on whether the vacuum is a bagless or bagged vacuum cleaner. In many cases, a bagged vacuum cleaner is likely to perform better for longer, but there are still many things that can deteriorate over time.
Empty The Vacuum Cleaner
If you have a bagless vacuum cleaner, empty the catching area and make sure all pipes are free from blockage build-up. Wipe out the inside of the holding tank, getting it as clean, and free of dust and dirt as possible. If you have a bagless vacuum, then change the bag. The bag itself acts as a secondary filter that affects suction ability, so changing the bag can be a great way to improve performance instantly.
Clean The Rolling Brush
Once the holding canister is clear, or the bag has been changed, turn your attention to the Rolling Brush in the head of the vacuum. Take the time to pull any hair or other matter that has built up inside the vacuum head, so that the rotating brushes are not being reduced in their effectiveness by hair. You might be able to remove this hair just by pulling it out piece by piece, or cutting it with a knife or scissors and pulling it off.
Remove Lint
Some vacuums include a lint trap. If yours has one, check it and empty any lint that has been captured.
Clean All Attachments
Check all hoses and attachments and make sure they are free of obstruction and debris. Make sure you do this outside because in many cases you will find debris buildup that makes a big mess when it comes out.
Wash The Parts And The Filter (And Let Dry)
Detach all parts and filters you can remove, in warm soapy water, and let them dry. Before you submerge your filters in water, check your instruction manual to see whether this is a prohibited activity. Some models use different filtering technologies and the filters could be damaged or become ineffective if they are exposed to water.
Once all parts have been removed, cleaned, and dried, they can be reassembled. Following this thorough cleaning of the parts, you should notice a significant improvement in your vacuum performance. If your vacuum cleaner is still not performing after this procedure, you may need to take it to a vacuum repair center for professional attention.
Give Your Carpet A Thorough Once Over
With your newly cleaned vacuum cleaner, the next step you need to take to restore your carpets is to give all carpeted areas a thorough once over. Cover all areas, including underneath furniture (move it around where possible), and take the time to use the attachments needed to get into all the cracks and crevices, and corners.
Spot Clean The Stains
Once you have completed a thorough clean, look around for any stains or marks that did not come off during the vacuuming.
If there are places where food has dropped and dried on the carpet, or mud from shoes has become lodged in the carpet fibers, you can get a credit card, or other rigid but flexible plastic object and rub over the affected areas to see if that dislodges the food and dirt.
Use the vacuum cleaner to suck up any debris you were able to loosen up. If there is still debris stuck in the carpet then you will need to work on it in a different way.
For the remaining stains, you will need to clean them with a carpet cleaning product. Each carpet cleaning product works slightly differently, but most of them require you to scrub the affected area with the cleaning product, wait, then wipe over the area with a clean cloth.
For the majority of stains, this will be an effective way to remove them from your carpet.
Hire A Carpet Cleaning Machine
If there are some stains you cannot get out, or your carpet still looks grimy overall, you can consider hiring a carpet cleaning machine from your local hardware store, or appliance store.
These machines are extremely effective and easy to use.
The benefits of hiring one of these carpet cleaning machines are that you can clean a large carpet area in a relatively short amount of time. They come with all the chemicals you will need, and are typically easy to maneuver, so nearly anyone could use one.
These machines can also clean any other upholstery you have in your house including couches, mats, and rugs.
A lot of people like to hire these machines once every year, or a few times a year, to refresh their carpets.
Get A Professional Carpet Cleaner
If all the above the sounds like too much work, and you have more money than time, then you could consider professional carpet cleaning.
Professional carpet cleaners are great at restoring the natural beauty of your carpets and can do a very good job, in a short period. They tend to use eco-friendly products that have great disinfectant qualities.
Keeping Your Carpet Clean
Whether you have done it yourself or had a professional carpet cleaner come in, once your carpets are clean you should do what you can to keep it that way. There are some simple things you can do to maximize the length of time your carpets keep their vibrant look, including:
- Putting doormats at each door to prevent the amount of dirt walked into the house
- Asking people to remove their shoes before coming into your home
- Empty your vacuum cleaner regularly
- Brush your pets and bathe them frequently to minimize excess hair
Final Thoughts
Through this article, we have discussed the various ways you could bring your carpet back to life. Whether you want to do it yourself with your vacuum cleaner, hire a vacuum cleaning machine, or get a professional to come and do it for you, keeping your carpets vibrant is a very cost-effective way to keep your home feeling fresh and homely.
