Cleaning Carpets

 

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?