We’ve all spilled food on the carpet, or watched our kids drop a full cup of red juice right on the clean carpet. And somehow, our carpet is full of little spots and stains that we have no idea where they came from. Wouldn’t it be nice if you prevent your carpet from ever getting stained? Unfortunately, a completely stain-free life is probably unattainable, especially if you have kids, but here are some ways to keep most stains away or at least make them easier to clean. - Leave shoes at the door. Shoes are a huge cause of spots and stains in our carpet. Thin about it, you never know who stepped in what outside. If you want to keep mud and who knows what else off your carpets, require that shoes be taken off at the door. Provide a shoe mat arrack right inside the entrance of your home to encourage this behavior.
- Use mats. If you really can’t bear to not where shoes inside, or you Don’t want to have to ask your houseguests to remove their shoes, make sure that you have mats to catch the brunt of the mess. Place a heavy duty mat outside of your door, and another rug right inside. This is especially important in the wet seasons to soak up any water, mud, or ice salt that your shoes may have.
- Bathe your pets before they come inside. It’s probably too much effort to bathe your dog every time they go out to the bathroom, but if they happen to get very dirty or muddy, make sure to rinse them off before you allow them in the house. No one likes those muddy trail of paw prints in their home.
- Use sippy cups or other cups with lids for kids. If your kids have a tendency to spill their drinks, have them use a cup with a lid. This way, even if they happen to knock over their cup, nothing will spill and make a mess. Getting fun character cups will help your kids warm up to their new cups.
- Better yet, take this one step further and don’t allow drinks or food outside of the kitchen or dining room. This goes especially for juices and sodas that have a tendency to stain. You may even want to consider implementing this rule for the adults too. We clean up a lot of wine stains…
- Consider using a rug on top of carpet in high traffic areas. You may have never thought of using a rug over your carpet, but rugs are cheaper, easier to clean, and easier to replace than regular carpet. If you have an area in your home that is prone to spills and stains, this is a good option. Bonus tip: f you install new carpet, keep the leftovers and use it as a rug.
- Take care of any spills that may happen quickly. The older a stain is, the harder it is to get out. Don’t put off cleaning up stains, do it right away for the best chance of saving your carpet.
- For the best chance of removing stains, use a carpet protectant. Chem-Dry Protectant creates an invisible barrier that helps keep stains from becoming a permanent part of the carpet fiber. Stains will eventually seep through this barrier, but carpet protectant helps protect your carpet and give you a longer window to clean up spills before they become a permanent stain. To learn more about carpet protectant, give us a call at (586) 612-1830 or ask your carpet technician during a cleaning.
At Chem-Dry, we recognize the substantial investment you have made in your carpets and want to enhance your investment and ensure a longer carpet life. With Chem-Dry Protectant and regularly scheduled cleanings, spots and stains are not a problem and your home is left fresh, clean and healthy for your family.