Keep your carpet clean on the cheap

This morning I had the pleasure of forking out £140 for our carpet to be cleaned.* I don’t live in a rambling five bedroom house, mind, I live in a two bedroom garden flat that has carpet in the living room only. So, I paid £140 to have one room’s worth of carpet cleaned. Sting!

Unfortunately, it was unavoidable. The living room is a through-room, which means virtually all the foot traffic that comes through our house goes through that room. We also have a puppy, and he makes a mess of everything. Every time he goes into the garden (ten times a day), especially when it’s raining (pretty much all the time), it is a wrestling match to get his paws cleaned off before he can run on the carpet. Also, when he was much younger, a few times he puked on the carpet after eating too fast – and it turns out? vomit and carpet are not happy bed fellows. (Aside: being a dog owner is all glamour).

So despite daily vacuuming, over the course of the last two years the previously cream carpet had faded into a very attractive grungy grey colour. And there were a few spots where I had tried to get out a stain and accidently over-soaped the carpet, so that although the stain would vanish for a while, a few days later a dull grey spot would reappear, much to my chagrin.

The most annoying thing is: I don’t even really like carpet! The rest of the house is hardwood floors, which are gorgeous, and if it was my house I’d pull up these carpets in a flash. But, alas, it’s not; and I digress.

So after doing quite a bit of research into the best type of cleaning for carpets, I decided against a ‘dry clean’ (apparently works fabulously the first time but after that, not so great); and also decided against hiring a machine and doing it myself (again, not my carpets, don’t want to mess it up and have to pay to replace carpets and possibly damaged floorboards). I spent a lot of time reading reviews on local carpet cleaning companies, because it really is the type of thing that can be hit or miss – a couple of forums had people reporting companies that left sopping wet carpets that rotted the underlay and took weeks to dry properly. Eek.

The guy I finally chose wasn’t the cheapest, but had something close to a cult following online, which is good enough for me. And he did a fantastic job, quite quickly. The carpets are now restored to their pristine whiteness and were left only the slightest bit damp, and have since dried. Soon I may allow the dog to walk on it again – is it wrong to want to put little house slippers on him first?

He gave me some tips on looking after the carpet from here on in, which I am now passing on to you in the spirit of good housekeeping.

1. Don’t use shake’n’vac type products; they leave a filmy residue on carpet that actually attracts dirt.

2. Instead, freshen carpet before vacuuming by sprinkling half a cup of bicarbonate soda on each room before bed and vacuum first thing in the morning.

3. For virtually any spill, apply carbonated water straight away, especially when it comes to animal wees or vomit. The water will neutralise the acid in the liquid and avoid nasty staining.

4. Use good quality absorbing mats at all entrances to the house.

5. Use mats in high-traffic areas of the carpet to extend its life.

He also said that in his house he asks people to remove their shoes before walking on carpets, but I have to confess that this is a life-long pet hate of mine, and I would never ask people to take off their shoes before coming in my home. But I will be putting into action the tips above to try and stretch out the amount of time before the carpets have to be cleaned again.

Do you have any tips for keeping your carpets clean on the cheap?

* This does not affect my Tenner Week challenge, as it was booked weeks ago and is a need, not a want.

{Image: Luz Adriana Villa}