Best Ways to Bring New Life to Your Carpets
Your children are the love of your life, you wouldn’t change them for the world, but with all the best will in the world, they are not the cleanest of most hygienic of people.
Cleaning up after your child is part and parcel of parenting, but when it comes to that carpet that they love so much, you don’t want to break their heart by having to remove it or break the bank by having to replace it.
Sure, hardwood floors are an alternative, but along with the lessons to be learnt on personal hygiene, your children have also not quite perfected balance yet, and a degree of cushioning for those inevitable trips and falls is a reassurance that you would rather not give up.
So what are your options? Well, you could buy a new carpet every time the current one gets too sticky and unpleasant, but your children aren’t going to give up the first carpet they picked out themselves, not that easily.
Before you embark on a war of wills with your children, who will always be willing to dig their heels in longer than you are, try these simple strategies for maintaining your children’s carpet, and bringing it back to its glory days.
Wet spills
These are probably the most frequent mishaps that will occur, your child is drinking their juice and anything shiny distracts them for just a second, and the contents of the cup ends up on the floor. Never rub spillages too intensely, this will tend to cause the stain to spread and can weaken the fibres and lessen he lifespan of the carpet.
Normally if caught quickly enough water alone will be enough to clear wet spills, but if not, a little vinegar added can help. There are also many useful products on the market.
Solid spills
No less frequent, just as damaging to the carpet. Firstly solid spill removal as possible. Then mix a solution with a (preferable colourless) mild detergent and hot water, use a cloth or towel to clean the mess, do not rub for the reasons listed above, instead dab and blot the stain until it has disappeared.
Urine spills
Accidents happen when you have children, if you have pets then the chances are even higher, unpleasant, but easy to deal with if caught quickly. Hot water and a cloth or towel immediately will take the stain out and remove the smell, although the room may need to be well ventilated for a while immediately following the accident.
Maintenance and preventative measures
The above tips can help with problems as they happen, but the general wear and tear of a carpet can do more damage than these issues combined. Get your children into the habit of putting down a mat or sheet if they are playing with paints or anything else that could damage the carpet, make it part of the game for them. Make sure your guests remove their shoes and your children will follow the same habit.
Steam cleaning
Not just for professional cleaners, a deep cleaning machine can be purchased online or in many hardware stores. Steam cleaning your carpets every six months ty a year, either personally or by getting professional cleaners to help, removes allergens and any creepy crawlies that may have found their way under your carpets, brings that new fresh shine and can extend the life of your carpet by a substantial amount of time.
Children make a mess, there’s no avoiding that, but with care, fast reactions, regular cleans and preventative measures, the mess on your child’s carpet needs to be nothing but a five minute inconvenience to your day, not the end of their carpet.
