Whether you have large area rugs, or small throw rugs, they are all highly-contaminated of the dirt, grime, allergens, and bacteria that can affect your health severely. Mainly, you and your pets bring contaminants in the homes with your shoes and feet and sometimes the carpets get dirty with the body fluids, when you sneeze cough. When you are ready for cleaning your carpets, it is essential to know that there is a vast difference between sanitizing, cleaning, and disinfecting the surfaces in different areas and properties. When you are done with disinfecting the surfaces, the area can stay free of infection only till it is touched with the contaminants again. Mainly, the soft surfaces such as carpets cleaning are merely challenging to disinfect due to their size, construction, and uneven surfaces, but you can reduce the level of bacterial contamination effectively.
How often should you clean the carpets?
You should vacuum the carpets several times weekly for removing the loose soil, and if you prefer deep cleaning, then do it at least twice a year, or you can do it seasonally. If someone in your home is ill or has a problem with the communicable disease, you can go with a deep cleaning to prevent the spread of the conditions.
How to disinfect the washable carpets?
- Remove loose debris
You can take your carpet outside and shake it entirely or vacuum it well to remove the loose debris.
- Wash your carpets
You can wash your carpets with hot water as it is the most reliable way to remove the dirt and unwanted grime from the carpets that also keeps your carpets healthy for long.
- Use detergent and laundry sanitizers
A heavy-duty laundry detergent mainly contains enzymes that remove the grime so you can start by adding the laundry disinfectant but make sure to use them according to the label’s instructions.
- Dry the carpet
If your carpets are of soft cotton and do not have backing with rubber, you can dry them on high-heat, but if your carpets cannot withstand heat, you can air dry them.
Tips for cleaning and sanitizing the carpets
Remove furniture
Before starting with a deep cleaning of the carpets, you can move the furniture from that area to clean the place effectively and thoroughly. If you don’t want to remove the furniture, you can place plastic under the furniture leg to prevent rust or wood stains for preventing the dirt that can make the carpets look awful.
Vacuum your rugs for removing the loose soil
When cleaning and sanitizing the carpets of your residential or commercial property, you can start with vacuuming the loose soil, dust, and allergens for deep cleaning.
Select a cleaning solution
Most carpet cleaners are sufficient enough to remove the stains and soil by cleaning the surface thoroughly, but these products are not relevant for sanitizing or disinfecting.
If you want to sanitize your carpets, you need to look for the effective disinfectants that can kill the germs and bacteria present on the rug. Before using the cleaning products on the mat, you can test them on the fibers to see the results they can provide and how they will clean your carpet. You can also spray the solution on the fibers and let them sit for a few minutes and then wipe them with the clean cloth but make sure to read the label and usage before using any product.
Use a steam cleaner
You can follow the instructions of the manufacturer for the steam cleaner and the mixing directions for the cleaning solutions before using them on the carpets. If you doing carpet steam cleaning on the hardwood floor, you can cover them with a plastic sheet to prevent your floor from water damage.
Air-dry the carpets
You can leave the carpets for a few hours or overnight to get the relevant results for your carpets. Here are some of the tips you can follow for keeping the carpets clean for long-
- Place the washable mats outside as well as inside the entry areas to lower the soil and bacteria.
- You can remove the shoes outside when walking on the carpets or use the clean slippers.
- Vacuum your carpets weekly to get rid of the soil, allergens, and dirt.
- Give a bath to your pets and keep them away from the carpets as possible.
If your carpets are entirely messy, that cannot look better after cleaning; then, you can sanitize them with white vinegar to get the most reliable results. Vinegar is an eco-friendly and non-toxic product that makes it a perfect solution for busy households, and above all, it is entirely safe for kids as well as pets. These are much safer to pour down the drain and are an inexpensive way to keep your carpets clean and dirt-free that makes it a most suitable option for killing about 99.99% of the germs. When you use the vinegar with the steam cleaner, it can do the double-duty of using the heat for killing the pathogens, while providing you with a well-cleaned carpet that you want.
Mix the solution of vinegar and water to make a solution that you can use for carpet cleaning and disinfecting as these are the most appropriate ways to provide you with the deep clean. If the cases are severe, you can use the complete strength of vinegar as these are the most effective and relevant remedies to keep your carpets cleaner.
- You can fill the detergent vessel of the steam cleaner with the solution, but make sure to avoid overfilling for the best usage and better results.
- Run the steam cleaners over the carpets, but make sure that you are aware of the direction of using the machine efficiently.
- You can allow the carpets to dry before laying them on the surface or walking on them like regular days. The most important way is to clean the carpets in the evening before going to bed to dry them entirely through the night. When the carpets dry completely, the smell of the vinegar will also getaway, leaving your carpet completely clean.
Additional tips and advice
- It is always best to leave the vinegar on the carpets for carpet cleaning for a few minutes and clean them with a clean cloth while it is still wet. If the color is not affected, then you can wait for an hour to dry it and inspect your carpets again to see if there are any damages. If there are no damages, you can use the vinegar for the regular wash to get the best results in cleaning.
- Wet carpets mainly attract more dirt, so if possible, you can ask the people to avoid walking on the carpets till it gets dry ultimately, or you can keep it in a separate area with no traffic.
- If the smell of the vinegar sticks around the carpet after it dries completely, you can sprinkle the baking soda and allow it to sit it completely. After a few minutes, you can vacuum your carpets and make sure that the carpets dry entirely before sprinkling the baking soda.
