Cleaning Your Carpets & Upholstery
You might be wondering how often and how you can clean your carpets and upholstery. What products and methods are the best for the job and do you need to use specialist equipment? We’ll be answering all of these questions in this blog and give you our top tricks to deep clean your carpets and upholstery.
Why You Should Clean Your Carpets & Upholstery
Carpets especially can easily become dirty so it’s important to keep them as clean as possible and to remove stains and marks properly. Not only will a clean carpet create a good impression when someone walks into a room, but there are also significant health reasons to do so too.
Dust mites, bacteria, germs, mould and fungal spores can be present in carpets and upholstery and the more there are, the more they will breed and multiply. These work as allergens and irritants and can make you unwell, particularly if you suffer from hay fever and asthma.
Carpet and upholstery cleaning is also important because they can start to smell stale and unpleasant for several reasons, especially if you have pets at home, or a room isn’t that well-ventilated. A musty smell won’t be removed by using room spray if the cause has not been tackled. Once the spray fades, the nasty smell will persist.
Homes with pets will be more susceptible to soiled carpets and upholstery and this can become a hygiene issue if not tackled properly. Pets can walk in dirt and sofas and cushions can become infected with fleas. None of which is very appealing!
Dirty carpets and upholstery can also affect the air quality. When carpets are walked on, or sofas are sat on, the unhealthy particles are released into the air. So to improve the air quality within a home, it’s important to have a regular plan for cleaning your carpets and upholstery.
How Often You Should Clean Your Carpets & Upholstery
Your carpets and upholstery might not look dirty, but it’s still advisable to get them cleaned once a year. This will remove all of the germs and particles that collect inside the carpet and upholstery fibres.
Pencil an annual date in your diary, or better still create a cleaning routine or schedule for your home and include this within it. This will help you to keep on top of all of your cleaning needs and ensure your home stays as clean as possible. It will also help you to manage the load.
How to Clean Your Carpets & Upholstery
Regularly using your vacuum cleaner is the first line of defence, but if you want to have a deeper clean then there are several methods you can use.
Upholstery in particular can be steam cleaned, as can your carpets. This is an effective and popular way to clean inside the home. Steam cleaning uses hot water at high pressure to clean and break down dirt and bacteria.
Dry cleaning uses an absorbent compound that binds to dirt and lifts it with a mechanical brush in the process, which is then removed by a professional vacuum.
Bonnet cleaning again, uses a specialist machine which includes a spinning pad that will have a cleaning solution applied. This is popular in more commercial environments but does not give a deep clean, rather surface level.
Carpet and upholstery shampooing is the most popular method as it’s effective for deep cleaning and the machines can be easily hired for the home. You might see them for hire in your local supermarket or dry cleaners.
Encapsulation is another method that uses detergents that are worked into a surface using a brush machine. But it’s not always the most effective for heavily soiled carpets.
Hiring a Professional Cleaning Company For Your Carpets & Upholstery
Cleaning carpets and upholstery can be a tricky job if you’ve had no training. If you can it’s always advisable to use a professional cleaning company, as their staff will come fully trained. They can develop a cleaning plan for you and will be able to undertake the job in an efficient and timely manner. They will also have all of the correct equipment needed to complete the work, including the correct cleaning materials, which in the long run will save you money.
A cleaning company will also work within the latest health and safety guidelines, using proper clothing suitable for working with chemicals. Because they are trained, you will also benefit from a professional result.
If you need help with carpet and upholstery cleaning, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
