Carpet Cleaning Tips: How To Deep Clean Your Carpet

Try as you might, your clean carpet will always draw in everything from dirty footprints to stray pet hair – it’s all par for the course. And while vacuuming will help deal with the more obvious offences, hidden debris will likely find its way deep into your carpet's fibres. And to get to these deep, untouched areas, a thorough carpet clean is needed.

But when you already vacuum a few times a week, it can be tough to know what to do next. Well, from the best way to clean your carpet to how to clean up carpet stains, we’ve got some top carpet cleaning tips, below.

You might not notice it at first. It might even take a few times to spot. But look closer and your clean carpet is sure to be dirtier than you thought, hiding dust and debris in the fibres. And chances are, it's been there for some time, potentially causing long-lasting damage. As gritty dust and debris become rougher over time, they eventually end up cutting into the soft fibres of your clean carpet. This makes them appear worn and matted, in turn, making the fibres more susceptible to stains.

So, to combat these pesky fibres taking your clean carpet from soft and fresh to rugged and rough, you need to thoroughly vacuum. The best way to get a proper, deep carpet clean is to grab a vacuum with a strong air flow and an efficient agitator.

For vacuums, a decent air flow is essential to carrying the dirt up and into the bin or vacuum bag, however, it is the agitator that is the star of the carpet cleaning show. The agitator loosens debris from deep within your carpet’s fibres and pushes it towards the suction motor, where it can be properly removed and stored for disposal.

Now, the best way to clean your carpet is to vacuum slowly in different directions – especially over high traffic areas. This will help remove dirt that has been forced deep into your carpet’s fibres. And why not take a look at our AirRam range? With a rotating brush bar and AirLOC technology, you can be sure you’re getting the best carpet clean!

TOP TIP: Keep an eye out for dirt such as makeup and coffee grounds. These can get stuck in vacuum bins which can cause mildew growth. Grab a vacuum with LED lights to be sure you aren’t vacuuming harmful particles while you clean your carpet.

So, as we just spoke about the damage makeup and coffee grounds can cause, let’s look at how we can clean our carpet by hand to remove these carpet stains. Of course, you can browse tons of different stain removers on the shelves of your favourite supermarket, and most of these will do the trick. However, if you want to clean your carpet at home, you can combine two simple household items to help remove stubborn stains.

Simply take some baking soda and a spray bottle of tap water and let the carpet cleaning magic begin. Sprinkle a dash of baking soda over the stain, enough to cover the whole area. Then, get your spray bottle and spritz over the baking soda, covering until the area is damp.

Next up, make yourself a cuppa, and let the carpet cleaning mix settle for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour, depending on how bad the stain is. Once the time’s up, grab a cloth and gently dab and swipe at the baking soda until it is removed.

Once the spot has properly dried, the last step to properly clean your carpet, is to go in with your lovely vacuum. Make sure you get rid of all lingering bits of baking soda to leave you with a fresh, stain-free, clean carpet - and it’s as simple as that!

With your home glistening from all the carpet cleaning we’ve done so far, it’s time to explore how you can keep your carpet smelling fresh too. Similar to our tips to clean carpet stains, there is a super easy way to keep your carpet smelling clean, and that is to remove any lingering odours clogging your clean carpet fibres. Just follow the below steps:

1.      Lightly sprinkle your carpet with fresh baking soda (if you have a large carpet you may need to buy several tubs).

2.      Let the solution sit on the fibres for around 30 minutes. Then, vacuum the baking soda away to reveal a revitalised clean carpet. And just like that, you’re left with a clean carpet that smells as good as it looks.

Now, to go that extra step in your carpet cleaning endeavour, pick up some of our scented vacuum cartridges. Pop these into any of our K9 vacuums – designed to clean your carpet of pet hairs and smells - and let the fresh aroma take your clean carpet to the next level.

We’ve gone over a lot of ways to clean your carpet so far, but they all involve a vacuum. And while we love our range of vacuums and think they are truly the best way to clean your carpet, let’s look at how you can clean your carpet without a machine. Cleaning your carpet without a machine isn’t as tricky as it might sound. You can do this by simply concocting your own carpet cleaner solution to remove stains and dark spots, using three very simple items – white vinegar, washing-up liquid, and water.

Wondering what to do with these items to clean your carpet? Well, just follow these steps:

1.      Stir one tablespoon of washing-up liquid and a ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar into 1 litre of tepid water. Decant some of this mixture into a spray bottle.

2.      First, test the solution on an inconspicuous portion of the carpet, to make sure it doesn’t damage the fibres.

3.      Once you're happy, apply to the stain or dark spot, and leave to soak into the fibres for 30 minutes.

4.      Using a cloth, blot the carpet. The stain should come away naturally to leave you with a sparkling, clean carpet!

TOP TIP: Always blot stains, even if they're fresh. If you rub them, you risk spreading the mark deeper into your lovely, clean carpet.

Now you know all about how to clean your carpet of dirt, stains, and odours! Looking for tips on more specific carpet cleaning tricks like how to remove red wine from your carpet or how to clean carpet on your stairs? For more cleaning tips head over to our blog.