How To Clean And Revive Old Carpet
Has the old carpet in your house seen better days? We get it. Nothing in your home gets quite as much wear as the carpeting. Family members and pets walk on it all day, so dirt, grass, and lots of other stuff get tracked in from outside, and food and drinks are dropped by accident. Your poor carpet works hard! A carpet cleaner rental from Rug Doctor® by BISSELL® can help you show your carpet a little love.
Step 1: Vacuum Up Dust & Dirt
To begin reviving carpet, we recommend starting with a clean foundation. Remove furniture from the room or move it out of the way as much as you can, to vacuum the carpet. Vacuum slowly and in opposite directions to try to get the carpet fibers to stand up. Also, pay special attention as you vacuum along the edges of the room to capture all loose dust, dirt, hair and debris.
Step 2: Clean Set-In Stains From Carpet
One of the things we are asked a lot is about how to get old stains out of carpet. There are several methods, but our best advice is to pre-treat stains and then deep clean with a carpet cleaner. Giving your carpet a little help before deep cleaning will go a long way towards removing stains. If you aren’t sure what kind of carpet stain you have, try an oxygen stain remover, like our Oxy Spot & Pre-Treat spray. Spray the stain and surrounding area about five minutes before you start carpet cleaning.
Step 3: Remove Furniture Dents In Carpet
Not sure how to get dents out of carpet? Here are some handy tips you can try to remove dents from carpet:
- Place a few ice cubes in the dent and allow them to completely melt. Later, soak up excess water with a sponge or towel.
- Use your fingers, a spoon or the edge of a coin to gently stroke dented area and bring the tufts of carpet more straight
- For really deep dents, place a damp towel over the divot, then run your iron over the towel. Do NOT let the iron touch the carpet.
Step 4: Deep Clean Carpet By Renting A Carpet Cleaning Machine
If you are looking to refresh carpet, giving it a deep clean is the best thing to do. You can rent an upright carpet cleaner for about $40 for 24 hours. It’s easy to rent and easy to use with professional-level carpet cleaning performance for your home! Learn more about our machines here and use our store locator to find a rental location near you!
Carpet Care Tips: Remove Odors From Carpet
Now that your carpet is much cleaner, let’s keep it that way! Carpeting is expensive and not easy to replace. It can and should last for a long time, but maintenance is key. Here are some carpet cleaning tips:
- Vacuum carpet once a week or more if you have pets to prevent excess hair from collecting on your carpets.
- Spot clean spills right away. Keep some Oxy Spot + Pretreat on hand to help! When you clean stains, clean from the outside of the stain in to minimize spreading. Also, blot the stain, don’t scrub! This will help keep your carpet from getting fuzzy.
- Add welcome mats by your doors to trap dirt before it gets on carpets in the main parts of your home.
- Remove your shoes before walking inside your home.
- Consider adding area rugs in high traffic areas throughout your home that have carpeting to avoid matting and carpet damage.
- Rearrange furniture every now and then to change the flow of walk patterns through your home and reduce carpet wear.
- Deep clean carpets every three to six months with an upright carpet cleaner to keep carpets clean and refreshed.
