Cleaning your carpets is a job that seems endless, probably because it is. In order to keep your rugs and carpets in good condition, looking attractive, smelling great and feeling good under bare feet, it is important to routinely vacuum and clean them. Carpets can also be a breading ground for bacteria and microorganisms, providing yet another reason to know how to clean a carpet properly.

Homes that have a couple of children running around, a pet or two, and lots of visitors coming and going will need carpet cleaning more often. On the other hand, a home with just one or two people who don’t stir things up much or drop food or spill drinks on the flooring will not need to clean the carpet as often.

One of the first tips for how to clean a carpet and maintain it well is to try to minimize the “dirty traffic” that tends to bring a lot of dust, grime and debris into the carpeted area from outside. Area rugs and carpets can help to protect high-traffic areas and in some homes, it might be better to use vinyl or tile instead of carpeting, at least in some areas.

There is another thing to keep in mind if you are considering new carpets. The lighter the color of the rugs and carpets you install, the more frequently the carpets will need to be cleaned. This is true both in terms of regular vacuuming and how often the light colored carpeting will need steam cleaning or shampooing with special carpet cleaning equipment.

Another basic tip for cleaning a carpet is to vacuum at least once a week or more if you can see debris starting to collect. You should think of vacuuming as being the first line of defense for keeping carpets looking new and pristine for as long as possible. With frequent vacuuming you will help keep dust, crumbs, dirt and other debris from becoming ground into the fibers of the carpet as foot traffic passes over the area.

The vacuums that do the best job at cleaning carpets are those that have strong suction and that also have an agitator or brush roller. A machine that has a lot of suction can pull dirt from deep inside the fibers and the brush roller will help to make it easier to detach debris from the surface of the carpet where it can sometimes become entangled with the looser fibers at the top.

If you have a light colored carpeting or the carpets get a lot of traffic, then you should augment your vacuuming with steam cleaning or carpet shampooing every 3 to 4 months. Homes that have darker carpeting and light traffic should still have a deep carpet cleaning done at least once a year. For some people, the best tip for how to clean a carpet is to call a professional carpet cleaning service, which will save you work and give you the confidence that it was done right.

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