Once you are not careful, there’s a stain on your beloved carpet. While parquet and tiles are easy to clean, textiles are more difficult to treat, but not impossible. Children come home after playing in the mud, a dog rages through the living room with dirty paws or red wine glass is knocked over in the heat of the moment: floors feel a lot in everyday life. Cleaning is inevitable. The good news: So far, (almost) every carpet has become clean again provided you know how to do it properly.
Vacuum the carpet: first aid against dirt If you vacuum your carpet regularly, you won’t be able to remove stubborn stains, but you will prevent dirt from getting stuck. The smooth nozzle of your vacuum cleaner is ideal for high-pile carpets, so you can use the brush attachment for all other carpets.
Removing stains from carpet If something is spilled on the carpet, you should act quickly. Soak up the liquid first, for example with a kitchen towel. Important: only dab, do not rub! Then drizzle lukewarm preferably mineral water onto the area and dab it off. Many stains can be removed this way. If this method does not help, you have several options:
Most carpet cleaners are alkaline, meaning they contain suds. Carpets made of synthetic materials can be easily cleaned with it. Natural fibers such as cotton and jute are more sensitive and can fade. Test the cleaner on a small spot on the underside before applying it to the entire stain. Never use alkaline carpet cleaners on wool, leather and other animal fibers.
- For red wine stains, clean the carpet with salt
Salt has proven effective against dark stains such as red wine stains. Sprinkle the stain from the outside in and let it dry. The grains of salt absorb the liquid and can be easily vacuumed off after a few hours.
- Clean carpet with baking soda
Baking soda can remove small stains and be used for basic cleaning of your carpet. Sprinkle the powder onto the spot, pour warm water over it and dab the stain carefully after a few hours.
- Wash carpet in the machine or by hand
You can easily put textiles made of cotton, wool and synthetic fibers, such as polyester in the washing machine at 30 degrees or wash the carpet by hand. All other materials such as raffia, sisal or coconut fiber should only be treated selectively with water and a suitable cleaner. Otherwise, they may swell and lose their shape. Also, note that not every washing machine is big enough for your carpet. Most drums hold a maximum of eight kilograms and can break if overloaded. In laundromats, you will find washing machines with a larger capacity.
Remove old stains from carpet: baking soda or carpet cleaning Old, dried-in or particularly stubborn stains in the carpet are best removed with baking soda or baking soda. We have already described above how to do this. If that does not help or you’re unsure which method is right for your carpet, you can always visit a carpet cleaner.
