Aladdin’s Quandary: How Do I Clean My Flying Carpet?

The holidays are over and spring cleanup is just beginning. Now that it is a new year, you are ready to re-arrange the furniture to give your living room a new look. After moving the couch, you realize that your mother-in-law and her favorite dog have left you a reminder of their three-week stay.

There are many choices in home flooring, but nothing is cozier than a thick carpet on your floors. Unfortunately, carpet (including flying, and non-airborne area rugs) are high-maintenance. With this in mind, you may find yourself asking: “How do I get stains out of my carpet, and how often do I need to do a deep cleaning?”

Daily Cleaning

Deep cleaning your carpet is important, but there are simple steps that to keep your carpet looking its best between the times you do a deep cleaning. No, you don’t have to go purchase a copy of Carpet Cleaning Tips for Dummies (trust me, that really is the name of a book). Some of the best methods for keeping your carpet looking cleaner, longer, are listed below. First, the disclaimer: When using any method to clean your carpet, be sure to test any cleaner on a hidden spot of your carpet to be certain that the carpet is color-fast enough to tolerate the treatment.

1.       This sucks! 

Vacuum the high-traffic areas frequently – daily, if possible. I know that seems like a lot of work, but if you add a few Zumba dance steps to your vacuuming routine, you will be able to check “exercise daily” off your to-do list. Vacuuming daily will keep the dirt from making its way down into the carpet fibers. Bits of dirt can not only make your carpet look grimy, they damage the fibers due to friction. This damage will make your carpet look “flattened” at a faster rate.

2.       These boots are made for walking.

Ok, there aren’t many of us who remember Nancy Sinatra’s original song (and if you do, I’ll bet her song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day). If you have just come home from the movie theater, the bottoms of your boots have collected sticky soda residue, crushed Nerds, and… wait… I hope that is just a Raisinet! So, the best option is to remove your boots when you come into the house…unless you have horrible foot odor. Then, just place a rough-surface mat outside of your door, and a floor mat inside your door, and be sure to rub your boots vigorously on both.

3.       You lie like a rug!

Okay, I don’t know you well enough to say that, but to keep high-traffic areas clean, an attractive (but inexpensive) hall rug can make a big difference. This is especially true when morning rush hour comes, and the kids are jumping out of the shower, walking with their wet feet down the hall, and Fido runs after them, cleaning the Raisinets off his paws with the help of the wet carpet. It’s cheaper and easier to clean a hall rug, than a permanently-fixed carpet. 

4.       Who dunnit?

When you see a new stain or dirty area on the carpet, try to get the guilty party to clean it up as soon as possible. Yes, I’m kidding. No-One did it, and he’s not about to volunteer. So, it’s left up to you.  Try to have a carpet spot cleaner always ready to use, and apply it as soon as you can, following the directions. NOTE: If the “spot” contains large particles, use a dull knife, a pancake turner, or something similar to scrape up as much of the crunchy mess as possible. Depending on the origin of the “crunchy,” you can use the vacuum to pick up the particles that you have scraped off the carpet. Then, use the spot cleaner. Cleaning up any carpet mess as soon as possible will help prevent permanent stains.

5.       Are you kidding me? You missed the bucket!

If the new stain is wet and gooey, and food poisoning is the instigator of the mess, you probably won’t ask the victim to scrape up the disaster. But, if you equip yourself with a clothespin for your nose, a strong constitution, paper towels, a pair of gloves, a spray bottle of soapy water, a plastic trash sack, and a thin-edged plastic cup (one that you never want to use again), you will find that cleaning up gooey, wet, and/or disgusting messes is not as hard as you think.

For large piles of “yucky,” apply your clothespin to your nose (as needed), apply your gloves, and grab several sheets of paper towels. Place the towels on top, and use your hands like a set of salad forks, and scoop under the pile, while capturing the lump with the paper towel. Place the treasure into the plastic bag, and repeat, until the majority of the chunks are gone. If you need to, bring out your pancake turner to scrape up as many of the leftover chunks as possible. Now, use the thin-edged cup and scrape down deep into the carpet, scooping up the liquid leftovers, and pour them into the trash bag. Once you have removed as much of the liquid as possible, spray the area with the soap and water mixture, and remove the soapy water using the same trick with the plastic cup. Dig down deep into the carpet to remove as much of the smelly mess as possible. Then, either break out the carpet stain remover, or if needed, get out your do-it-yourself mechanical carpet cleaner.

When you are done, use a rag to blot the area to dry it out. If the carpet is not a sensitive, temperamental thing, you might even be able to get away with some vigorous rag rubbing to speed the drying process.

Deep Cleaning

Deep cleaning your carpet the right way is important, but there is much debate regarding the “who” and the “how.” Most homes that have real people living in them will need the carpets cleaned approximately every 12 months. If you live in a zoo (my good friend has 14 kids, a ferret, a dog, and a few snakes), you might need to clean your carpet more often, especially in the high-traffic areas. So, how do you accomplish this task? Most carpet manufacturers have recommended methods listed on their web sites, and some even go so far as to tell you what vacuum to buy.  Some will also recommend a particular do-it-yourself (DIY) carpet cleaner. So, which way should you go?

1.       I can do anything better than you!

If you do decide to invest in a do-it-yourself cleaner, ask Mr. Google to show you some sites that have reviews on cleaners. (Sidenote: You can also find a reference to the song that makes up the title for this section – you’ll thank me for it, because this song is more fun than These Boots Are Made For Walking). However, when doing your research, you may find that Amazon.com has a lot of DIY carpet cleaners. (Relax, Ebay addicts, I am not promoting any business.) The important part about Amazon is they have customer reviews by the boatload. Many of us think we are brilliant enough to give other people advice (while some of us KNOW we are), and these reviews can be really helpful.

When you search for “carpet cleaners” on Amazon, you can organize your search by the cleaners with the greatest number of positive reviews. Be sure to read a few of the “I like it” reviews and some of the “I didn’t like it” reviews. You may find that the person who didn’t like a particular carpet cleaner has a good point in discussing an issue that means a lot to you (for instance, if you object to cleaners that don’t have enough suction to dry the carpets, you will probably hear about it in the complaint section). Remember, just because you did your research on Amazon, it doesn’t mean you have to purchase your cleaner from Amazon…I promise, they won’t track you down and throw eggs at your house if you shamelessly “use” them in this way.

2.       I’ll be back!

If you are the type of person who realizes that you don’t have the time, energy, or desire to spend a day cleaning your own carpets, hire someone else to do it, and go sit on a deck chair until the fun is over. Most carpet cleaning companies will clean all your carpets within a two-hour time frame, and frankly, most of them have equipment that can suck more of the cleaning fluid out of your carpet, leaving your carpets dryer, faster. Unfortunately, the cost will be close to the cost of purchasing your own DIY machine. However, you might decide to have someone clean all the carpets, and still invest in a DIY machine. It is a good idea to have a DIY machine for those times when the stain has to come out NOW.

The type of cleaning fluid used by commercial companies vary, and it is best to follow your carpet manufacturer’s recommendation. Otherwise…use Google to decide what is most important to you… cost, the time it takes to get an appointment, how “green” a commercial company’s product is to the environment, and so forth. Or, be resourceful, and ask your neighbors. They will likely have strong opinions, and with enough recommendations, you will likely find a good company.

The Final Word – Finally!

When it is time to clean those expensive Aladdin rugs (a.k.a. area rugs), it is best to use a professional cleaner. The fabric, durability of the weave, and the color-fastness of the dye can cause you a world of heartache if you try to do it yourself, and fail. Besides, you paid the price for the rug… treat it right.

So, you now have a “whole new world” of choices when cleaning your carpets. Choose well, do your research, and happy flying!