Lyndsey Day 7 of “A 30 Day Guide to Spring Cleaning“.
Say goodbye to icky carpets! Today we are going to talk about cleaning carpets and rugs! I would love to say there are a few different ways to clean your carpets and rugs, but really there isn’t. Not if you want to blast the dirt away, get a total refresh, great smell, and soft new carpet feel.
The best, and in my opinion, only way to clean your carpets well is with a good carpet cleaner. If you don’t own a carpet cleaner, don’t worry! You can rent one from many different stores such as: Lowe’s, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Walmart, Meijer, and a lot of local hardware stores. They are super easy to find, if you know you are looking for one! Rentals will not come with solution, you will need to purchase this along with your rental.
What to clean:
- Carpets
- Rugs
Supplies needed:
- Recommended:
- Bissel Carpet Cleaner ‘paid link’, Bissel Cleaning Solution, Shark Rotator Vacuum
- Note: I prefer my Bissel pet-pro carpet cleaner over any rental I have ever gotten!
- Alternative: rental/any carpet cleaner, recommended solution for that carpet cleaner, and a vacuum.
Cleaning Carpets
Step 1: This step is optional, but will provide the best results for your carpet cleaning. Move all the furniture out of the room you will be cleaning. Dust and dirt tends to travel, and if you are looking for the best clean you can get, you will want to clean under the furniture in your rooms. Dust collects under furniture, as well as hair and other light debris. If you cannot move the furniture out of the room, you can also move it to one side, and then to the other, as you move through the room cleaning.
Step 2: Vacuum! Get up as much dirt and debris as you can with the vacuum before even attempting to use a shampooer. Not vacuuming first could cause clogs in your cleaner causing this process to be a lot harder than it needs to be. Additionally, if you don’t vacuum, you may find your cleaning solution turns into a muddy mess, especially in heavily soiled areas. I recommend really working to get into the corners and edges of the walls, as you would be surprise how much dirt and dust can build up in these areas. I have dogs that shed A LOT so I can provide a perfect example of how things migrate to the corners! In order to get the dirt and debris out of the corners and edges of the walls you will want to use the long slim attachment on your vacuum. This attachment allows you to get close up to the walls and corners and pull everything out! If you have or decide to get the Shark Rotator Vacuum that I recommended, you can use the wonderful attachment to do this as easily as regular vacuuming, without needing to get down on the ground!
Step 3: Prepare your carpet shampooer for cleaning. Please be sure to read the instructions specific to the carpet cleaner you will be using, as these instructions are there for a reason and will yield the best results! For the Bissel Carpet Cleaner that I had recommended, I use the Bissel Cleaning Solution Pro-Max clean and protect. I have had wonderful results with these two items, and am not sure that I would ever want to switch! If using the Bissel Pet-pro, you will fill your empty tank with warm water to the indicated water fill line, and then fill the remaining with solution, to the solution fill line. I use the deep clean mode on this shampooer, as I feel like I get the best results with this setting. Make sure your dirty tank is emptied out entirely.
Step 4: Make sure all your components of your shampooer are correctly installed and securely mounted to avoid any leaks, and then you can start cleaning!
Step 5: Clean according to your shampooers directions. Commonly, this will be pulling the trigger to release the cleaning solution in a forward and backwards motion using slow passes to ensure proper coverage. Once the trigger is released, you will then do slow back and forth passes over the same exact area to be sure the solution is extracted properly. SLOW AND STEADY IS KEY! Make sure you aren’t rushing this process or you won’t be happy with the results. Be sure to follow a specific pattern so you can keep track of your passes.
Step 6: When you are finished using the carpet shampooer, be sure to clean it out completely for storage. You do not want any of the build up and debris/dirty water left in here to cause mold, mildew, and awful smells. You will want to take it apart and rinse off and dry all components of the carpet cleaner before storing it or returning it to the rental store. Empty your dirty tank either outside or in the toilet to avoid clogging your drains.
Avoid walking on the cleaned areas for a few hours to allow it to dry!
Cleaning Carpeted Stairs
Carpeted stairs can be an absolute pain, but they can also be blessing. They drown out noise from stairs creaking and allow padding when going up or down. On the other hand, they collect dirt and debris like crazy, and there are so many crevices to clean!
For cleaning stairs, you can follow the same steps as above, but I want to add a couple notes for this:
When vacuuming the stairs, use an attachment like the power fin roller, or the brush attachment to clean the stairs well. You can also use your long slim attachment to get in the crevices between the step top and the back of the step above it. The Shark vacuum allows detaching the tank from the base of the vacuum for easier movement. Always vacuum stairs with the vacuum below you. If full contact with the step is made, the hose will tighten and pull the vacuum down on top of you.
You will want to add another part to preparing your cleaner. For stairs you will want to use the upholstery attachment as using the actual cleaner on the stairs is nearly impossible. It is too wide, and too bulky to try and appropriately use on each step. With the Bissel pet-pro cleaner, this is simply lifting the intended spot for the hose attachment, and clicking the hose into place. Again, always clean the stairs with the carpet cleaner below you, unless this is not possible (mine doesn’t fit on my steps, and many won’t). In the case where you may have to have it above you at some point, be sure not to pull the hose tight at any time.
Once you have completed using the upholstery attachment on the carpet cleaner, you will need to rinse out the hose before putting it away. To do this, you will want to fill a sink with warm water and run the carpet cleaner without the solution trigger being pulled. Place the upholstery cleaner head into the sink of water to allow it to suck up the clean water and rinse itself out. DO NOT DO THIS WITH THE DIRTY TANK FULL, IT WILL OVERFLOW YOUR TANK ALL OVER YOUR FLOOR.
Empty the remaining water from the hose into the sink after detaching.
Cleaning Rugs
There are many different types of rugs, and many different types require different kinds of cleaning. The carpet cleaner/shampooer will work great for your large area rugs that cannot be washed. Be sure to use the appropriate settings (if there is one specified) for rugs your carpet cleaner, and follow the same steps as above for “cleaning carpets”. Make sure to use caution near the edges of the rugs, as the edges could fray, and cause the carpet cleaner to stop leading to belt issues/wear with the shampooer itself.
- Large Area Rugs: use a carpet cleaner and follow the steps above.
- Small Rugs: shake out the rugs outside and machine wash
- Wool Rugs: you can use a carpet cleaner on wool rugs, but be cautioned that this will build up wool fibers in the carpet cleaner. After cleaning my wool rugs I make it a point to empty the dirty tank outside to avoid this build up in my septic.
- Jute Rugs: I have this jute rug from Amazon Jute Rug, and it is amazing at getting the dirt off shoes and the dogs feet, and it allows the dirt to fall right through rather than building up in the rug. These types of rugs can just be taken outside and rinsed out with water.
Common Mistakes of Carpet Cleaning,
- Too much cleaner! Using too much cleaner actually leaves a residue on your carpets that becomes a magnet for dirt and grime. You will be achieving the opposite of what your goal is. Be sure to read your shampooer and cleaner directions before mixing your solution.
- Cleaning too quickly! Making passes too quickly with your cleaner can cause streaking, and a half finished job. The solution will not disperse correctly, and the cleaner will not have the opportunity to properly remove the cleaning solution from the carpet.
- Overly wetting the area! Using too much cleaning solution on your carpet, by soaking an area, or by making too many repetitive passes in one spot will allow too much solution to build up. Build ups of the solution can lead to mold and mildew, so avoid this!
If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I would be happy to get back with you.
Check out Day 6. Clean Furniture here.
Check out Day 8. Touch Up Paint here.
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