Carpet care tips that really work.
Carpet care tips that really work.
Protecting your investment means protecting your carpet. With a few commonsense measures, you can keep your new carpet looking good and avoid excessive wear and tear.
The first thing to do is to check your carpet warranty. Does your new carpet come with an extended wear warranty that gives you extra peace of mind over the years? Harrisons Carpet One offers a very reputable warranty, so make sure you ask your carpet consultant about this when you’re ready to make your purchase.
Having chosen your new carpet (with extended wear warranty) and had it installed, the next tip is to look at high-traffic areas near outside doors. It’s a good idea to provide mats for these areas to prevent unsightly stains and wear. Don’t forget to shake mats out and clean them regularly so they don’t harbour muck, dust or soil.
Make sure you use floor mats to protect carpet that’s in contact with furniture castors, such as those found on office chairs. Repeated use without a mat will soon wear an ugly groove in the pile. And don’t forget to place heavy cardboard or plywood under the wheels when you’re moving really heavy items such as pianos.
Sunshine is wonderful but too much can be the deadly enemy of carpet. Preserve carpet patterns and colours in those areas that bear the brunt of direct sunlight by installing shades, awnings or blinds.
Now we come to the ultimate bugbear – stains. Note that stain-resistant carpets are treated to improve your ability to clean, not prevent, stains. But if a careless hand does knock over a wineglass, here’s what to do:
First – do not rub the stain. This will only make things worse. Grab some paper towels and carefully blot up as much fluid as possible (or remove food before it gets mashed into the fibres). Food and other messes can also be removed with the blunt edge of a spoon – make sure you scrape it gently towards the centre of the spillage to avoid spreading the mess further.
To get the residual stain out, use lots of warm, slightly soapy water and keep on blotting up the fluid until it the stain is gone. You can also use a pressed chamois block such as a Slurpee, which you should be able to find in your local supermarket.
Spray-on carpet cleaners and dry powder products from the supermarket may be useful for the more stubborn stains. Make sure you read the instructions carefully and check the cleaner is suitable for your carpet type. Don’t leave the cleaning substance on too long, you may end up removing the carpet colour and pattern as well as the stain.
Really stubborn stains may need the attention of a professional cleaner. If all else fails, reach for the Yellow Pages.
Back To Blog
