You need to consider many things when choosing a carpet for your living room, including its material, style, and durability. Of course, your carpeting journey doesn’t end after you pick out a classic from the VM carpet Lyyra Collection, for example.

On the contrary – this is only the beginning.

You see, carpets represent a significant investment. Some people may even liken it to owning a car. And in some ways, they are quite alike, especially in the effort you'll need to exert to keep them in good shape.

Luckily, there are ways to make the task so much easier. Without further ado, here are six cleaning and maintenance hacks to keep your carpet in its best shape:

1. Use squeegees and lint rollers to deal with fur and hair.

Any homeowner who has invested in wall-to-wall carpets in the past knows the challenge of removing hair and fur from rugs. So, if you’re a pet parent, especially if you have long-haired furry babies, you need to be smart about cleaning your carpet.

Fortunately, certain tools that you probably already have in your home or establishment can help.

At the top of that list is a window squeegee – a tool designed to remove sticky things from your windows or other surfaces. This clever cleaner can do more than just clean your windows, though; it can also remove fine hairs and pet fur from your carpet.

Simply glide a slightly wet squeegee over an area of carpet. Once the dirt and hair are gathered in a lump, you can now easily pick up this lump and toss it into the garbage.

Likewise, lint rollers can remove loose hair and tiny fibers from more than your clothing – they work well on carpets, too.

Thanks to the stickiness of the rollers, they can grab small particles that cannot be easily sucked into the vacuum, including pet hair, lint, and even dust.

If you’re worried that running a lint roller over your carpet will take hours, you just need to be smart when performing the task. Use it after you run the vacuum over your carpet. This way, the lint roller will capture anything the vacuum may have missed.

Pro Tip: This hack is perfect for carpeted stairs where vacuuming can be quite tricky to do.

2. Never rub spilled liquid.

Resist the urge to rub off any spilled liquid on your carpet, especially ones that may stain.

If you act fast, even red wine can be removed and won’t stain your cream-hued rug. The key is to remove the fluids first, so that the spill won’t soak into the carpet and become impossible to eliminate.

To do so, lightly blot the liquid using a clean towel or cloth. Begin around the edges, and work your way towards the center of the spill. This will prevent the affected area from “expanding.”

Also, avoid rubbing the spill away. Doing so could push the stain deeper into the fiber and spread it across the carpet, which is counterproductive to what you’re trying to achieve.

Instead, blot gently to transfer the liquid from the carpet to the cleaning cloth.

3. Use baking soda for oil stains.

Another difficult carpet stain to remove is oil (or anything oil-based). Unlike wine, this requires a bit more than just gentle blotting.

The good news is that there is something in the kitchen that could help – baking soda.

Probably one of the most used kitchen supplies in cleaning, baking soda is great at absorbing liquids and odors. But what you probably didn’t know is that it can also retract oil from carpets.

Here’s how to use it:

Take a generous amount of sodium bicarbonate and apply it over the oil stain. Cover the whole thing and let it sit until you see a dry crust.

The baking soda will soak the oil up, making it easier to remove with a vacuum afterward. After removing the crust, you can also use a cloth to blot away the rest of the stain.

4. Get rid of urine odor with baking soda.

Baking soda can be quite useful in carpet maintenance. Besides helping with oil stains, it can also help with pet urine, particularly the foul odor it comes with.

If pet urine gets soaked into your carpet padding, you will have not only a stained carpet but also a stinky one.

To deal with the issue, you can use baking soda to absorb the urine. Just follow the same procedure as instructed above. This removes the urine and the odor that comes with it.

Again, blot away any mess left and vacuum the excess powder.

5. Remove dried stains with iron.

It’s well and good to prevent carpet staining by removing whatever soiled it immediately, but that’s not always possible. So, if you’re dealing with a dried stain, now is the time to iron things out – literally.

To begin, vacuum the carpet to get rid of any dislodged particles. Then, dampen the stained or spotted area using a towel wet from a concentrated solution of vinegar and water (1:3 ratio).

Cover the area with a moist towel and apply heat on it using a flat iron. The stain should begin lifting as you move the iron. Continue doing so until the stain has been removed.

6. Bring out a spoon or some ice cubes to fluff out the carpet.

Carpet maintenance isn’t just about keeping it clean; it’s also about making sure it looks as good as it did fresh when you got it from your favorite carpet supplier in Dubai.

So, if your carpet looks a bit like an army has been marching all over it, you can use some ice cubes and a spoon to fluff it out.

For the spoon hack, start by spraying hardened and stained areas with a stain remover containing equal parts of water and vinegar. Leave it for a few minutes for the agent to work its magic, then blot up the stain. Then, holding the spoon on its side, run it over the carpet to fluff up the fibers.

Another trick is to let an ice cube melt into dented areas of the carpet. Once the ice has dissolved, use a soft towel to blot any excess moisture from the carpet.

Be careful not to press too hard as it will only leave the carpet dented again. Instead, lay a moist towel over the area and run a flat iron across it several times until it feels almost dry.

Let the carpet air dry and use your hands to fluff up the previously dented spot.

Soft, Warm, and Cozy

Carpets provide warmth and coziness in a home (or even a hotel or restaurant) while bringing the entire room together. Use the tricks listed here to make sure your wall-to-wall or area carpets remain in perfect condition.

AUTHOR BIO

James Prathap is the General Manager at NGC Nafees, one of the leading distributors of wallpapers, floorings, and fabrics in the Middle East and South Asia. Formed three decades ago, the business also offers high-quality panoramics, coordinated fabrics, and creative stickers for residential and commercial projects.