Carpet and Rug Care Checklist

Few things can transform any room like new carpet. You instantly get a fresh look free of nasty stains. Not to mention what the new color can do to highlight the furniture and wall coverings. But the hard part is keeping things looking fresh and all. Because kids, pets and foot traffic are hard on carpet.

Problem is, before you know it the unavoidable spills, inevitable stains and accumulated dirt and grime will take its toll on your lovely new carpet. That is unless you take the required steps to keep them at bay. To help with that here are some time tested carpet and rug care tips.

Vacuuming to remove ordinary dirt from high traffic zones like entrance ways and hallways is a good first step. Followed by a thorough cleaning of the rest each week. You want to prevent dirt, sand and grit from working their way deep into the fibers of your carpet where they can grind away over time.

Now when vacuuming you aren't in a race to get done. You want to take it slow. Pushing and pulling the beater brush over the same area up to seven times. Such effort gives the machine time to suck out the embedded dirt. Doing so also helps bring the fibers back to life.

Carpet Care Tip: Carpet wears at the point where the tufts of nylon and backing meet. Any accumulated grit saws the fibers off at that point. Which is why you want a vacuum that can extract as much of the sharp, sand like dirt as you can.

Don't forget to move the bigger pieces of furniture so you can vacuum all the carpet in a room.

Then did you know the key to dealing with spills is quick action? Doing so means you're less apt to be left with an unsightly stain.

Blot not scrub is the word of the day when dealing with any spill. Grabbing white paper towels to absorb liquids or a spatula to slide under thicker spills to lift them off the carpet. Followed by an application of powdered or foam carpet cleaner — which is smart to keep on hand too.

Now if a stain develops the removal process begins with a good carpet spot remover. There are several to be had and they aren't expensive either. It's also good to have dry cleaning fluid on hand too.

Yet if a stain sets in which stain remover you use depends on the what caused the stain. But a quality spot remover is a good first step. Just be sure to test it's impact on your carpet in an out of the way corner. Better still a closet. You want to see if it removes the carpet's color before having at it to vigorously. If spot removing solutions are unavailable, try using dry cleaning solvent mixed with liquid detergent, ammonia and vinegar to clean small spots.

Finally you want to protect your carpet from the crushing weight of furniture with some inexpensive carpet casters.

It's inevitable that spills will happen sooner or later. Not to mention what daily wear and tear can do to carpet. But frequent vacuuming, quick action and a bit of extra care can minimize the damage and prolong the life of your floor covering. Keeping carpet from being a natural, if inadvertent, stain magnet that eventually mars its beauty.

Taking care of your carpet is easier with the right vacuum. To help with that the top rated vacuum cleaner reviews at AskTheVacuumGuy.com make it easy to separate fact from fiction. Doesn't matter if you're looking at canister vacuums, uprights or hand helds. Get the help you need at that leading site for info about sweepers, steamers and cleaning machines.