10 tips for DIY Carpet Cleaning

I have always had off-white carpet in my home. In order to keep the carpet looking nice, I have found the following tips will save you thousands of dollars in replacement costs and extend the life of your carpet by years. Carpet cleaning is a must when people or dogs don’t wipe their feet or take off their shoes before they come in the house.

1. Even a cheap carpet cleaner can clean your carpet. You don’t have to rent one but they do work great. Make sure you have a full day to work on this since it is amazing how much time it takes to do it right but the results are worth it. Don’t forget the upholstery attachment since I always see a chair or corner of carpet that needs to be cleaned and this attachment comes in very handy.
2. Try to move furniture out of the room. Anything you cannot move out needs to have double folded aluminum foil put under the legs to keep the furniture from getting color onto the carpet and making a permanent stain. If you don’t have aluminum foil, plastic wrap will do but be careful to get it completely under the areas that touch the carpet.
3. Prespot stains and walkways. This is a very important step and will affect the outcome. Most also have brighteners which help it look cleaner when dry.
4. I use a 2 tank system with hot water in the soap tank. I do not use more than the recommended amount of soap. It makes too much foam.
5. Make sure to run 1-2 rinse cycles after you have cleaned the carpet to get all the soap out. Leftover soap in the carpet will make it get dirty faster.
6. Do several dry runs over the carpet to get extra water out. Go very slow to get the most water out. You will be surprised how much water comes up and press down a bit to squeeze the padding under the carpet.
7. Run your ceiling fans or other fans afterward in the room to speed drying time. It takes a good day depending on how much water was left in the carpet. I recommend using a roll of construction paper taped to the walk areas if you cannot wait for the carpet to completely dry. Walking on the carpet before it is dry will bend the fibers down and destroys the nap.
8. I leave the aluminum foil under the furniture for at least a week or two due to the weight of the furniture on the padding.
9. A rug Runner down the main walk area will add years to the life of your carpet.
10. Put sisal rugs in front of all outside doorways. I put one outside and one inside. You can ask people and dogs to wipe their feet when coming in from outside…..haha. If you can get people to take off their shoes at the outside door, a small shoe rack is great for keeping the front door neat and orderly. Sometimes, people will take their shoes off without being asked if they see you have shoes by the front door.