Anyone who has carpeting in their home or office understands that there comes a time for carpet cleaning.  San Diego is a city where life can be difficult on any carpet when one considers the climate, the sand and other elements that can lead to the buildup of dirt, grime and stains that negatively affect the appearance of a carpet.  Rug cleaning is also a necessary chore for those who prefer this mode of floor covering, and below you’ll find 10 basic tips for carpet cleaning.  San Diego residents can help themselves by following some of these basic steps before contacting a professional for help.

10 Carpet/Rug Cleaning Tips

Below you’ll find some basic tips regarding the cleaning of your carpet.  Rug cleaning strategies may also work within this approach as well:

1.     Treat Stains with Care

Stains happen with carpeting – that’s simply an unavoidable fact of life.  However, what one does in reaction to these stains makes all the difference.  Rubbing and scrubbing aggressively only weakens the carpet’s fibers and can lead to a stain becoming permanent.

2.     ‘Bandage’ Your Stain

After you’ve properly dabbed and treated a stain, leave a dry cloth on top of it with something to weigh it down overnight.

3.     Avoid Heat

Do not apply an iron or any other source of heat to the fresh stain, as it could do more damage.

4.     Bleach and Lemon Juice

Bleach without chlorine and lemon juice have proved to be particularly effective with mold and mildew.

5.     Do Not Leave Spills

Generally, the faster you work on a spill on the carpet, the better your results will be.

6.     Keep it Clean

Some stains are the result of the rubbing/grinding in of daily dirt.  Vacuum the carpet regularly to minimize the chance that this will occur.

7.     Keep Dirt Out of the Area

Experts have been saying for years that if you place door mats and the like outside of the room, you will minimize the amount of exposure your carpet has to dirt and dust.

8.     Start with Hot Water

Hot water should be the first substance used on a spill.  It helps to remove the stain before it embeds in the carpet fibers.

9.     Club Soda

For particularly notorious stains such as red wine, club soda has been shown to be very effective for use immediately after the spill occurs.

10.Professional Help

If you are unsure of how to proceed with any problem with your carpet, do not hesitate to seek professional help.  It’s always a better decision to spend a bit of money on this form of carpet/rug cleaning than risk having to incur the enormous expense of replacement.  Contact J&M Carpet Cleaning, Inc. of San Diego to schedule a consultation.

Corky Sigurdson is the head of the carpet cleaning division of J&M Keystone located in San Diego. Visit their san diego carpet cleaning site at http://www.jmcarpet.com/