How to Keep Your Home and Carpet Clean This Holiday
The holidays keep us busy, busy, busy. Large amounts of guests, hosting parties, and the constant in and out through stormy, wet, muddy, snowy, etc. weather keeps our floors busy as well. It is not uncommon through all this rush for homeowners to be wondering how they are going to keep their carpets looking their best so they can continue to host parties and overnight guests.
Use these holiday carpet care tips to keep your floors in top shape during the busy season.
Use Mats
These unsung heroes do so much to keep outside gunk from coming in contact with your carpet. Wet weather, mud, road de-icer, and sand combined with more foot traffic will all do a number on your carpet. Create an extra barrier of protection with a few quality mats at each exterior door. Make sure to have a tough fiber or bristle-like mat outside the door and another mat inside the door. This will get so much gunk off of shoes before they hit your floor. For added protection, you can even hang a cute “ please wipe your feet” sign.
Don’t Forget about Furry Family Members
Holidays are not just stressful for humans, they can be stressful for animals as well. Some pets may get overwhelmed with the influx of people coming into their home or the lack of their favorite people being at home. The anxiety of having so many strangers in the home could cause your furry loved ones to have accidents on the carpet. Make sure that your pets are handling the holidays well, not just for your carpet’s sake but for theirs as well.
Also be mindful of your pooch going out to use the bathroom in wet weather. Have a towel ready to clean their paws when they come inside from doing their business or going for a walk. Also remember that salt and de-icer are rough on poochie’s paws and you will want to clean that off as soon as they get home.
Be Ready for Stains
Hosting more people in your home means stains and spills are bound to occur. Be ready for them ahead of time with the correct stain fighting tools all set to go in a kit. Grab a bucket or tote and fill it with plenty of clean white rags or a roll of plain white paper towels, a bowl to mix stain fighting solution, rubber gloves, your favorite stain removal agent ( we like mild dishwashing soap to mix with warm water for a multi-purpose cleaner), and maybe a list of handy home remedies for different kinds of spills.
When you are equipped to tackle a stain right away you have more chance of successfully removing a stain. Remember: to always blot never rub and to work from the outside of the stain toward the center. Also: always rinse the cleaning solution from the carpet with clean water and soak up as much moisture from the carpet as possible with a dry rag or towel.
Vacuum More
Ideally, you should be vacuuming at least once or twice per week on a regular schedule. With more foot traffic in the home, you should bump this up by one more time per week. This will significantly cut down on the amount of dirt in your home.
Call in the Pros
Have your floor professionally deep cleaned before or after your party(ies) to protect and prevent dirt and stains or get your carpets looking like you never hosted a party in the first place. Have a stain that just won’t come out? A pro may be able to employ some magic to set your floors straight again.
All Kleen has a team of pros ready to tackle any of your holiday carpet care needs. Make an appointment online.