SOMETIMES IT SEEMS like you’ve only just washed your carpets before they start showing dirt and stains once again.  

Keeping your carpets clean can feel like it takes an awful lot more than running the hoover over them a few times a week, especially if you’re maintaining a household with children who spill things and track mud and debris inside the house on their shoes.

The good news is that there are steps you can take to more efficiently and comprehensively protect your carpets and keep them clean, saving you time and energy.

Don’t fear the deep clean

Because a once-over with the hoover can have the effect of making our carpets look passably clean, sometimes we let it go too long without cleaning them properly. This leads to a build-up of dust and debris in your home, and it means that an accumulation of dirt will show up quicker on your floor.

That’s why it’s essential to deep clean your carpets once or twice a year, depending on how much carpet you’ve got and how much dirt it’s retaining. Renting a carpet cleaner is a good way to get the job done, but there are other ways. Thoroughly vacuuming in order to remove heavy dirt and loosen other debris in the fibres before, before going over the carpet with warm water and carpet-friendly detergent will help. Finishing by scrubbing the carpet with a strong towel to pick up much of the dirt that would be otherwise hidden. 

The preemptive strike

There are many carpet-friendly policies you can have in your house that will leave you with much less cleaning to do. The most obvious is of course having everyone take off their shoes in the hall before they walk on the carpet. Having robust doormats on the way into your house for guests to use will also reduce the amount of debris that makes it past the threshold.

If there are areas of your carpet where your pets typically like to lie down, regularly sprinkle some baking soda there to deodorise it. Another solution for pets is to have stylish, washable runners that match your carpet and curtains, which can take any hair or dirt from your animals and go into the wash while leaving your carpet very much unspoiled. 

Smart furniture

One sure step you can take to reduce the risk of dirt or dust building up in carpeted areas is to move your furniture regularly, where it’s armchairs, coffee tables or sofas. Leaving furniture in one place for too long will allow dirt channels to form, and the more dust is allowed to build up, the more dust it will attract. 

By always keeping your furniture fresh and regularly tackling the spots underneath a hoover, you’ll make sure that your carpet is always looking its best. Other furniture solutions to the build-up of dust include having a draft excluder at the foot of your doors to stop dust from travelling in. At this time of year, this also has the benefit of keeping you warmer and comfier and you enjoy your sparkling carpet.