Still in the living room for the perfect spring cleaning! Here is everything you need to do to make your home rugs and carpets beautiful.
Carpet Cleaning
Carpets were created to be walked on; their fate is not the best! Yet, their texture is easy with some small pieces and some ad hoc keeping to keep them in good reviving. It is advisable to dry clean new carpets to prevent the colors from fading or staining. Old and antique carpets can be washed with water, obtaining better results.
For daily or weekly cleaning, using a sorghum broom or brush will be fine and passed delicately after vacuuming. The carpet can be beaten but should not be hung, but rather laid out on a surface first on one side and then on the other.
A carpet must never be shaken to avoid deformations of the weave and fibers. To make the colors brighter, carpets can be cleaned with tea leaves wrapped in a clean cloth, water and ammonia (3 parts ammonia and one part water), water and white vinegar, or diluted trichloroethylene. However, you must take care not to wet the carpet.
To remove some superficial stains from a carpet, brushing with a regular detergent can often be enough, given that carpets are usually treated with grease. If the carpet has been stained with food and drinks, the first thing to do is to remove the dirt residues by gently scraping. Then it is a good idea to put some absorbent carbonated stain and pour some water and, if necessary, a carpet detergent on the dirty part.
Finally, it is advisable to dab the wet part and leave it to dry, avoiding exposure to the sun. A very diluted solution of water and alcohol (two tablespoons of alcohol per liter of water) is suitable for grass, chocolate, and more resistant stains. Make sure the carpet is dry before walking on it.
Another way to clean carpets is to use shampoo or dry foam, but you must be careful not to soak the carpet and vacuum up any residue with a vacuum cleaner.
Cleaning the carpet
Try to prevent dust from accumulating for a long time. Vacuum often (3-4 times a week), at least near stairs or entrances, especially if there are animals in the house and you have small children. To revive the colors, wash with a cloth soaked with water and ammonia (one tablespoon per liter) or warm water and alcohol (3/4 and 1/4).
Otherwise, sprinkle it with baking soda, leaving it to act 24 hours before vacuuming. At least once every six months, clean the carpet deeply with a specific shampoo or with a preparation composed of a liter of water, 1/2 glass of denatured alcohol, two drops of liquid dish detergent, and a few drops of ammonia to enhance the colors.
Alternatively, contact a specialized company. If your carpet is not many years old, it is treated to obtain a stain-resistant effect. If something falls on it, clean it immediately with a damp, soapy cloth and rinse.
If you have specific stains from:
- Coffee: use alcohol and vinegar in equal parts and then dab with water.
- Beer: cleans with sparkling mineral water.
- Wine: hydrogen peroxide and water in equal parts.
- Ink: dab with sparkling mineral water and rinse with warm water.
- Sugary drinks and ice cream: use diluted carpet shampoo and rinse.
- Mud: cold water and vinegar.
- Lipstick and nail polish: acetone.
- Blood: absorb it with a cloth and dab with white vinegar.
