Are you one of those people for whom cleaning is a big pain? Then you would probably rate cleaning the carpet as the biggest pain of all. It is not as if you can swish a wet mop over the surface and leave it to dry knowing it will look cleaner for not too much effort. Even vacuuming the carpet takes a lot more effort than vacuuming a hard floor surface. So, here are some tips to take the pain out of carpet cleaning.
- Keep dirt out of the house by placing mats inside and outside the entry doors. The outside mats can be of rubber or anything suitable that will grab all that first lot of dirt off shoes and boots, even before their owners step inside. Of course, you could train everyone to take their shoes off before they come in, but that is not always practical. If your school age child has to run back inside for something they forgot on their way to school, they are not going to pull their shoes off to do it.
- It may be easier to train them to take their shoes off before stepping onto the carpet, if you have some hard floor covering
between the door and the carpet. Then again, it may not be. - Once the mats are in place that will take a lot of dirt off the floor where it will be tracked onto the carpet. It is important to vac or sweep these mats on a regular – and frequent – basis. Keep a straw broom handy to make the job quick.
- In rainy weather, put down some old towels to help soak up muddy footprints.
- Vacuum the hard surface floor often so that the grit that does get in won’t get to live in the carpet.
- Mop up spills on the carpet as soon as they happen. Yes, it’s a pain, but not as big a one as trying to get them out once they’ve dried and set.
- Keep carpet cleaning supplies, paper and other towels in a drawer handy to the carpet to save time. If you have toddlers, make sure they cannot access the cleaning products.
- Choose a patterned, multi-coloured carpet rather than a plain one as it won’t show the dirt or stains as much.
- Cover the carpet with a sheet or something similar if you are expecting lots of little visitors.
- Place a light rug on the carpet in front of the sofa to protect this high traffic area.
- Ban working boots in the house – there is no excuse for an adult to tramp dirt and mud in.
