Carpet Cleaning 101
Carpet Cleaning 101: The Basics
When it comes to cleaning your carpet, there are two options you have: cleaning it yourself (which is often the first resort, for any minor spills or drips that have landed on your carpet, or for just a routine spruce up) and contacting a professional carpet cleaning company to get the job done for you with material and supplies that are geared toward getting the best, cleanest carpet possible for you.
Carpet Cleaning DIY: Cleaning Your Carpet Yourself
It makes sense to clean your own carpet every once and awhile. While the results may not be as great as a professional, you can still correct some minor incidences yourself in your own home. In order to minimize the damage to your carpet after an accident, spill, or walking into your home with something on the bottom of the shoes, here are some tips to get your carpet clean the right way:
Blot your carpet; DON’T wipe:
It may be your natural instinct to want to wipe a stain up - you may be thinking this is the best, more efficient way to get your carpet clean - but it’s not. By wiping or rubbing your carpet, you are working the stain deeper into the carpet fibers. You don’t want this to happen! Instead, place firm pressure on the stain with a clean cloth or sponge. This allows the stain to be absorbed without being absorbed too much by the carpet fibers.
It may be your natural instinct to want to wipe a stain up - you may be thinking this is the best, more efficient way to get your carpet clean - but it’s not. By wiping or rubbing your carpet, you are working the stain deeper into the carpet fibers. You don’t want this to happen! Instead, place firm pressure on the stain with a clean cloth or sponge. This allows the stain to be absorbed without being absorbed too much by the carpet fibers.
Shaving cream to the rescue:
Not only is shaving cream useful in preventing nicks and bumps and other unsightly cosmetic marks on faces, legs, armpits, etc., it also works wonders on carpets. This is a great DIY carpet cleaning method, and should be used for just about any general stain. The process is quite simple, and it works fairly well for an at home method. Simply squirt some shaving cream over the stain, completely covering it (as we just covered: don’t rub, just let it sit). Leave it on the stain for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes has elapsed, blut the shaving cream up (along with the stain, hopefully) with a clean white rag or cloth. From there, spray one part vinegar and one part water over the stain. Proceed to blotting that away, and voila! Your carpet should come out stain free, or at least significantly better than having used many other methods.
Not only is shaving cream useful in preventing nicks and bumps and other unsightly cosmetic marks on faces, legs, armpits, etc., it also works wonders on carpets. This is a great DIY carpet cleaning method, and should be used for just about any general stain. The process is quite simple, and it works fairly well for an at home method. Simply squirt some shaving cream over the stain, completely covering it (as we just covered: don’t rub, just let it sit). Leave it on the stain for 30 minutes. Once 30 minutes has elapsed, blut the shaving cream up (along with the stain, hopefully) with a clean white rag or cloth. From there, spray one part vinegar and one part water over the stain. Proceed to blotting that away, and voila! Your carpet should come out stain free, or at least significantly better than having used many other methods.
Chewing gum stuck in carpet?
You would be surprised how common this actually is. If you have chewing gum that fell out of your mouth and onto your carpet: don’t worry. Now that you’re reading this guide, you have the easy,sticky free, meshless method that is the best for removing gum. Run to the freezer and place an ice cube on the gum for 30 seconds. What this does is hardens the gum and makes it bind closer together within itself, rather than sticking and spreading on your carpet. From there, lift the carpet with a spoon and grab a pair of scissors to cut the gum away, cutting as close to the gum as possible. It shouldn’t be too noticeable.
You would be surprised how common this actually is. If you have chewing gum that fell out of your mouth and onto your carpet: don’t worry. Now that you’re reading this guide, you have the easy,sticky free, meshless method that is the best for removing gum. Run to the freezer and place an ice cube on the gum for 30 seconds. What this does is hardens the gum and makes it bind closer together within itself, rather than sticking and spreading on your carpet. From there, lift the carpet with a spoon and grab a pair of scissors to cut the gum away, cutting as close to the gum as possible. It shouldn’t be too noticeable.
Grease stains? Use dishwashing soap:
This should come as no surprise. Since dishwashing soap is tough on grease and oil on your dishes, it is also very reliable and effective in cleaning any grease stains on your carpet. It’s quite simple and effective: take a drop or two of your dishwashing soap (especially if you have one that is formulated specifically for grease) and put it in a spray bottle with one cup of water for every drop or 2 of the dishwashing soap. Spray that directly onto the stained area. From there, blot the grease and dishwashing liquid detergent up. For larger stains or difficult ones, this process may have to be repeated several times to get your desired result. If all else fails, call a professional and they will take care of it for you.
This should come as no surprise. Since dishwashing soap is tough on grease and oil on your dishes, it is also very reliable and effective in cleaning any grease stains on your carpet. It’s quite simple and effective: take a drop or two of your dishwashing soap (especially if you have one that is formulated specifically for grease) and put it in a spray bottle with one cup of water for every drop or 2 of the dishwashing soap. Spray that directly onto the stained area. From there, blot the grease and dishwashing liquid detergent up. For larger stains or difficult ones, this process may have to be repeated several times to get your desired result. If all else fails, call a professional and they will take care of it for you.
Dripped Candle Wax:
You may be having a romantic night in, and just when everything's going smoothly, the worst thing happens: you accidently spill some candle wax on your carpet. Relax. This is something that can normally be easily fixed. WHat you’re going to want to do is reheat the candle wax on the carpet. Yes, reheat it. It may be your natural thought to want to let it harden landscape it off, but this is actually extremely messy and often leaves lots of residue. Instead, grab your iron and gently press on the candle wax. Let the iron heat the candle wax back up; once it’s soft and melted, grab a butter knife and scrape it up. The remaining wax can then be removed by placing a paper towel on top of the wax stain. Take a while piece of paper towel and place the iron over it, which absorbs the heated wax. Problem solved, hopefully!
You may be having a romantic night in, and just when everything's going smoothly, the worst thing happens: you accidently spill some candle wax on your carpet. Relax. This is something that can normally be easily fixed. WHat you’re going to want to do is reheat the candle wax on the carpet. Yes, reheat it. It may be your natural thought to want to let it harden landscape it off, but this is actually extremely messy and often leaves lots of residue. Instead, grab your iron and gently press on the candle wax. Let the iron heat the candle wax back up; once it’s soft and melted, grab a butter knife and scrape it up. The remaining wax can then be removed by placing a paper towel on top of the wax stain. Take a while piece of paper towel and place the iron over it, which absorbs the heated wax. Problem solved, hopefully!
Blood:
Few cleaning detergents work as well as hydrogen peroxide when it comes to blood. Apply some hydrogen peroxide right to the blood stain on your carpet and it will begin to fizzle up and foam. When it starts foaming up, you know it’s working. After letting it sit for about 15 minutes, grab a sponge or cloth and dab the remainder of the solution up. Even if the blood stain is still faintly there, the hydrogen peroxide will continue working away at it even after you’ve dabbed the solution up.
Few cleaning detergents work as well as hydrogen peroxide when it comes to blood. Apply some hydrogen peroxide right to the blood stain on your carpet and it will begin to fizzle up and foam. When it starts foaming up, you know it’s working. After letting it sit for about 15 minutes, grab a sponge or cloth and dab the remainder of the solution up. Even if the blood stain is still faintly there, the hydrogen peroxide will continue working away at it even after you’ve dabbed the solution up.
The Basics of Professional Carpet Cleaning
Fortunately for you, as the customer, there’s not much you need to know about professional cleaning services. Rather, you can just sit back, relax and enjoy your freshly cleaned carpet once it is finished being cleaned. But to get the gist of what goes into professional carpet cleaning, here is a little background knowledge for you. What goes into professional carpet cleaning lies in a few basic principals. Think of it like using fabric dye. You use the fabric dye to change the color of your fabric, but it works best in warm water and it must be agitated and rotated frequently in order to work its way into the fibers. Then you need to let it soak and sit there for a while. This is what’s going on in the carpet cleaning process, but using different chemicals. Rather than dye, carpet cleaning agents are used.
Our professional, commercial grade cleaning chemicals are tough on stains and bind dirt and grime to water, so that they can be sucked out and removed from your carpet more easily. Hot water is used as it loosens the pores of the carpet’s fibers and, without getting too scientific, expands the water molecules so that it can better penetrate the carpet. From there, the carpet is agitated (moved about; the goal is to work the chemicals and water as deep into the carpet to remove as much dirt as possible). Next, you’ve just got to wait it out. Like when you apply your DIY solutions, the combination of the cleaning detergent and heat, along with the movement of the carpet need to sit and penetrate deeper into the layers of the carpet and dirt. Once that’s set; you’re good to go and can enjoy your freshly cleaned carpet!
