Before I start I just
want to say, clean your carpets however you choose, but I thought I would share
with you how I like to do it. My mom
taught me this method and it works really well for both carpets and upholstery
including the seats in your automobile.
We have a Bissell Little Green Machine and it does an amazing job for
our little house. I've borrowed a friends
upright Bissell Pet Pro before to clean our old carpet and it does a fantastic
job as well, but with the new carpet the Little Green we have is more than adequate
to get the job done.
I begin by thoroughly
vacuuming my carpets, then I empty the canister and vacuum again one more
time. You want to get up as much dust
and debris as you can. Then I fill up
the solution reservoir with plain hot water and half a cup of white
vinegar. I work in two foot by two foot
sections first by spraying the area with a light mist of Shout. Yep, the laundry stain remover. Next I spray the area with the hot water and
vinegar solution and use a soft bristled carpet cleaning brush to agitate the
area going back and forth and then diagonal against the direction of the nap.
Working from the cleanest
to dirtiest part, if there is one, I will then go over it back and forth with the
nozzle and spraying the water solution working with the nap of the carpet. Then going sideways to the nap I go over it
three times and extract the water. The
key is to not over saturate your carpet with soap or water because it is really
hard to get soap residue out of carpeting. The fourth and final pass I do is to go
against the nap so I lift the carpet fibers straight up. You want your fibers standing upright when
they dry. Then I set a box fan in place
to speed up the drying time and move onto the next section. The more fans you can set up the better! You want to get it dried as quickly as
possible.
If you have an area where
the nap is worn or really flat and matted, such as in the high traffic areas,
you can literally comb it up with a big toothed comb and lift those fibers back
up. You'll likely need to clean the area
again after combing because it is usually dirt that packs those fibers down
like that. Then allow those fibers to
dry while upright using the extractor to pull them up into position. You can comb them upright too if you need to. It works really well.
Once the carpet is
completely dry vacuum the entire area and you are good to go! I only clean our carpets about once every
other year. I will spot clean any areas
where something gets spilled or dirty as needed. One of the best ways I keep your carpets
clean in between is to not allow shoes to be worn inside the house and to
vacuum often. We also don't make a habit
of eating in the rooms where we have carpet.
That is what dining tables are for so we use them. Similarly we don’t eat and drink in our
vehicles. I've never been one to allow
my kids to have snacks and drinks in the car, except water. Even on long road trips we will pull over
into a rest stop to eat our lunch at a picnic table.
I love how fresh and
clean our carpets and upholstery turn out using this method. It not only works well, but it is a pretty
thrifty way to keep our carpeting nice and clean. The Little Green Machine wasn't all that
expensive and it has definitely paid for itself now after all the use we've
managed to get out of it. Do you clean
your own carpets or do you have it done professionally?
I have the Bissell upright cleaner and love it. Fresh carpet is always a pick-me-up! Your floor looks great!
ReplyDeleteBissel products are great. I'm a big fan. :)
DeleteYour floor looks great! When I had carpet, I had a Bissell upright cleaner, and it worked great. I refuse, however, to have carpet ever again. I call carpet the Devil's Underarm Hair. I also don't have upholstered furniture anymore, only leather.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that's funny!
DeleteI love reading your blog! Our carpet is 12 years old and never needed cleaning. No shoes worn on it. Eat at the table also. Allergy Dr said the worse thing for allergies is to bring them in on your shoes, not to mention the dirt. Just sweep it to keep nap up. Looks new!
ReplyDeleteWearing shoes in the house definitely wreaks havoc on the flooring.
Delete