Carpet Cleaning Basics

If you live in a home that has any type of carpeting, then you know just how difficult it can be to keep your carpets clean. What many homeowners may find surprising is that there are just about as many different ways to clean your carpet as there are types of carpets in the world. Unless you are interested in becoming a professional carpet cleaner, it would be pretty silly to learn how to clean each and every one.

For your everyday cleaning needs, the average person is only going to need to know the basics when it comes to carpet cleaning. Some of the basic methods of are listed here including a brief description of each.

• Broom. Believe it or not, many times you can use a broom to clean your carpets, just like when you are cleaning your hardwood or tile flooring. When using a broom on your carpet, you are going to want to use a regular broom instead of a deck or push broom. The regular broom allows you more control and finesse while you are cleaning the carpeting, though you are going to need to use a little more strength. Be careful while you are doing this, since you can very easily lose control and end up breaking something.
• Vacuum. The vacuum is the old standby for when it comes to cleaning your carpets. When using your vacuum to clean the carpeting in your home simply be sure that you follow the manufacturer's directions. Most vacuum cleaners have different settings for the types of carpeting. Each type of carpet has it's own length (or depth), and if you aren't careful then you can end up damaging your carpet when you vacuum it.
• Steam. Steam cleaners can be one of the best ways to clean your carpeting, especially when you are on a tight budget. These handy dandy cleaning tools can be rented for relatively low cost from most home improvement stores, or hardware stores. Simply follow the directions that come with the machine, and you can quickly have an outstandingly clean room without using any harmful chemicals, or leaving any kind of residue.
• Shampoo. Shampoo cleaners can be seen in almost every major department stores, and many grocery stores around the country these days and are usually available for rent on an hourly or daily basis. Once again, you need to be sure that you closely follow the directions that come with the unit when it is rented, otherwise you can easily find some sticky residue left on the carpet. If that happens, you can easily find yourself cleaning your carpets all over again in a few months.