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Keeping Carpets Clean and Your Home Healthy

If you notice an unpleasant smell in your home as soon as you enter, the odors may be coming from your carpet. Depending on what you have spilled on your carpet, the carpet fibers may be discolored, smell terrible, and even be unhealthy. To make your carpet as healthy and clean as possible, there are a couple of cleaning methods you should use.

Vacuuming
Vacuuming regularly is the most basic step in the maintenance of the carpet. You will likely need to go over the carpet several times over to thoroughly vacuum it. The way that debris can work its way into the carpet will require several passes at different angles to correct. Make sure to vacuum two or more times a week.

Removing Odors
The majority of products that are sold to stop odors are simply baking soda with an added scent. Products that don’t use baking soda often simply mask smells. To save money, simply purchase baking soda and sprinkle it over your carpet. Allow it to sit for a day and then vacuum it up.

Spills And Stains
Any spills on a carpet need to be removed as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the spill will soak into the carpet and will then be much more difficult to remove. If the stain has soaked into the carpet for too long, use a carpet stain remover. However, make sure to test the stain remover on an area of the carpet that is not noticeable first to make sure that the carpet does not become permanently discolored by the cleaning product. Poop, pee, and vomit are best cleaned with products that use enzymes.

If you have a stain that is very difficult to remove, you can mix dish detergent and water and apply it to the site of the stain. However, it can be very difficult to remove soap from the carpet. A less troublesome approach is to use club soda.

Steam Cleaning
To make sure your carpet is thoroughly clean, steam clean it once every six months. You could hire a professional to steam clean or purchase your hot water extractor. These products release warm water mixed with cleaning chemicals that lift dirt and stains from carpets and kill many germs. Then, the vacuum sucks up the filthy water.

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