The Importance of a Clean Home
Have you ever wondered why airports have carpeted flooring? One reason is that they can help relax stressed travelers. The more relaxed travelers are, the more likely they are to shop at airport stores.
Other researchers found similar results. For example, a 2016 study examined the effects of walking on carpeted and hardwood floors. The findings were that the former induced less stress than the latter.
Unfortunately, all those nice, stress-relieving benefits go away when the carpet in question is filthy, which is why we highly encourage regularly cleaning your carpets. This not only prevents buildup of grime and dust, which can affect your health, but also helps to keep your home a relaxing, enjoyable place to be.
The Steps: What Does it Take to Truly Clean Your Carpet?
The idea of carpet cleaning is great on principle, but when it comes down to the action, the process is blurry. Many homeowners might think to vacuum and be done with it, but to truly clean your carpet takes a little more effort than that. Here, we’ve compiled the necessary steps into a list for your ultimate convenience.
1. Remove Items Sitting on the Carpets
Objects like toys, books, purses, and bean bags can hinder your carpet cleaning task. Moreover, they can put you at risk of a slip, trip, and fall accident. Mind that falls alone account for more than 8 million emergency room visits in the U.S. annually.
So, take the time to declutter and move items before giving your carpets a thorough vacuum job. For instance, you can transfer lightweight objects to another corner of the room. You can also take them to another room (or put them in their proper places).
Be mindful of the weight of the items you’re moving or removing, though. If it’s too heavy (i.e., a couch or a sofa), have someone assist you in carrying and relocating it. Otherwise, you might harm yourself, as heavy lifting is a primary cause of injury.
2. Vacuum to Extract Debris and Dirt
Carpets may be relaxing, but they’re a catch-all for dirt, dust, and debris. They can also harbor shed skin cells, hair, and dust mites, and they dirty up even faster if you have animal companions
The solution? Simply vacuum.
Though sometimes tedious, this action is a must for any carpet cleaning situation. Whether you’re going for a quick tidy-up or a full on deep cleaning job, vacuuming is a crucial part of the process.
While it may seem obvious, here are a few tips and tricks to make the job just a little more effective. Use a vacuum with strong suction power to ensure a better cleaning job.The key is to run the vacuum over the same spot a few times. It’s also best that you spend a minute or two on each square foot area to extract all the contaminants.
3. Spot-Treat Stubborn Stains
After thoroughly vacuuming your carpets, it’s time to address every homeowner’s nemesis: carpet stains. These can take many forms, from pet accidents to food and drink spills, but they all have one thing in common: they’re downright frustrating to deal with.
Thankfully, that frustration isn’t really necessary. There are plenty of DIY methods and tools that make wiping out even stubborn stains a breeze. Commercial carpet cleaners work well, (we recommend using products approved by Woolsafe or the Carpet and Rug Institute), but even a simple homemade cleaning solution, consisting of one teaspoon of liquid dish soap mixed with a pint of water in a spray bottle, can do the trick of maintaing your carpets.
Once your cleaning solution of choice is ready, simply spray or blot a small amount onto the soiled area. Start from the outer edge and then work inward to prevent the stain from running and spreading. Also, ensure you alternate between the cleaner and a dry, non-dyed cloth or towel.
Another tip is to add a teaspoon of white vinegar to your detergent concoction. It can help spot-treat more difficult to remove stains and even kill some mold species, thanks to its acetic acid content.
4. Use Baking Soda as a Freshener
If you bake at home, you likely have baking soda in your pantry to help make baked goodies rise. However, this fine white powder, (also known as sodium bicarbonate) is not only a riser, but also a cleaner. Because it’s alkaline, it can break down organic materials, such as dirt, grease, and oil.
As well as breaking down gunk, baking soda’s powdered form makes it a gentle abrasive, which is great for helping to scrub away and lift filth from carpet fibers without damaging them. It also has odor neutralizing properties, and is safe for humans and animals. An overall great cleaning tool!
There are two options for utilization, though both work well:
- One option is to sprinkle the baking soda all over your carpets and spray it with a small amount of water. You then let it dry and vacuum it up, which removes dirt and odors.
- The other option is to make a paste out of the powder and water and apply it to soiled areas of your carpet, and then let it sit for fifteen minutes before vacuuming it up.
Hire Professional Carpet Cleaning Services
Keep your carpets in top condition by pairing DIY vacuuming with professional cleaning. Such a combination can help maintain the looks of your carpets and extend their lifespan.
Besides, you may only need to hire pro cleaners once or twice a year, as long as you vacuum your carpets regularly. If not, or you’re too busy, you might want to bump that up every quarter. Likewise, increase the frequency if you have pets or someone in your household smokes.
Convenience aside, a good enough reason to hire pros is to ensure a thorough carpet cleaning job. For example, they use a deep steam cleaning system utilizing hot water extraction. It involves injecting hot water deep into the carpet and its fibers.
The hot water penetrating carpet fibers then breaks down and dissolves embedded filth. Moreover, it knocks loose compounds that can cause stubborn stains on your carpets.
Afterward, the steam cleaning machine sucks up the water, dust, dirt, and debris. The result is immaculate, stain-free, fresh-smelling carpets.
Furthermore, residential and commercial carpet cleaning services use eco-friendly solutions. In addition, a reliable carpet cleaning company will properly dispose of used water.
To top it all off, you can hire pros to clean all the surfaces of your home, carpeted or not. For example, aside from covered floors, you can have them clean carpeted walls and stairs. You can even request them to clean grout, glass, stone, tile, and hardwood surfaces.
Why Choose HammondKnoll?
We at Hammondknoll are here to meet all of your cleaning needs. We offer personalized, eco-friendly cleaning solutions for both residential and commercial spaces in cities including but not limited to Olympia, Tacoma, Puyallup, and Seattle.
With a legacy dating back to 1939, you can count on our team for exceptional results that make you say, “Wow—that looks amazing!
Ready to transform your home’s surfaces? Contact us today to schedule your service or to learn more about our tailored cleaning solutions.
