It is incredible how little thought people give to cleaning their carpets. Many people who keep the rest of their house in spotless condition, make do with running a hoover over their carpets once a week. They only start to think about deep cleaning their carpet if something is spilled, causing an ugly stain. In this situation, around 80% of people turn to supermarket bought stain removing products, rather than professional carpet cleaners. They believe that this is a cheaper and equally effective method of removing stains, but we are here to bust this myth.
The first thing to mention is that carpets should be professionally cleaned on a regular basis. This is especially important if you are living in rented accommodation. Hovering once a week will only remove surface dust. Dirt and grime will get trodden deeper into your carpet and become very hard to remove. At the end of your tenancy, you will have to pay for the landlord to have the carpets cleaned or replaced, and this is likely to be very expensive. Regularly cleaning carpets will keep them in good condition and you may be left with nothing to pay. If you own your own home, this is also important, as a good carpet should be a long-term investment.
You can deep clean your own carpets using a Vax machine, but this is time-consuming, hard work and often no cheaper than professional cleaning. If you have your carpets cleaned every eight months or so, it will be a small job and cost less than you might think. Your carpets will look and smell fantastic all the time, and they will remain in good condition for much longer.
Getting back to stain removal – if you spill something nasty on your carpet, professional cleaning is usually the most economical solution. Shop bought stain removal products are both expensive and dangerous. They contain very strong concentrated bleaches, which soak into your carpet. If they are not completely removed from the carpet after use, they continue acting long after the stain has disappeared. This can leave you with bleach stains that cannot be removed and damaged carpet pile. Giving the carpet a “good scrub” with soap and water is not a solution to this problem. Stains should only ever be blotted, as scrubbing causes your carpet’s pile to burst, which in turn gives it a dirty worn look.
Professional cleaning is by far the quickest, easiest, and most risk free solution. A professional cleaner may apply stain removing chemicals – but they will know exactly how to use them, and they will steam clean the carpet to avoid leaving any dangerous residue.