How to Clean Your Carpet
In every home, carpets are the unofficial depository of dust, dirt and debris. But since they have the ability to absorb any amount of dust, you will not notice until you flip them over. Once the thick plume of dust settles, you will see several miniature life forms. Dirty carpets are not only an eyesore; they are bad for your health. Dirt also shortens your carpet’s life.
For these reasons, carpets need to be cleaned regularly. Most people dust and vacuum their carpets at least once a year. But dusting and vacuuming is hardly enough. Cleaning the carpet properly requires a multi-step cleaning procedure using the right tools and products. Professional carpet cleaning in Washington DC is done through the following steps:
- Dusting: This is the first step in cleaning a carpet. It is done to remove the dust from your carpet. It is done using soft compressed air and other tools. If your carpet has not been cleaned for several years, heavy-duty vacuum cleaners may need to be used to suck out the dust.
- Test for color bleeding: Some carpets bleed color. Such carpets have to be treated with color block to lock in the color; otherwise, the color will be lost when washing, making the carpet useless. This test is done to find out if your carpet is a color bleeder or not.
- Hand wash: Once dust is removed from your carpet and color block is applied, if necessary, it is submerged in clean and fresh water and washed with hands using natural cleaners. Hand washing is a labor-intensive process that requires many hours.
- Decontamination: After the carpet has been hand-washed, it is combed using heavy rollers to remove the deeply embedded dirt, grime and microorganisms, which obstinately cling to the carpet. The process is continued until all the obstinate particles have been removed.
- Rinsing and drying: After the carpet is decontaminated, it is rinsed with clean and fresh water to remove the detergents. After that, it is hung in the air to dry. It may take more than a day to dry the carpet completely.
- Clean, fringe and groom: This is the final step in cleaning carpet. After the carpet becomes dry, it is cleaned, fringed and groomed to restore its original color and luster. Once this step is complete, your carpet will look like it’s just been bought from the store.
Cleaning carpets requires special equipment and cleaning products. It also requires many hours of hard labor. Never attempt to wash your carpet without proper training; you may end up causing irreversible damage to it. Special care must be taken when cleaning antique carpets and handmade carpets, which must be hand-washed.
Rather than attempting to clean your carpet yourself (apart from dusting and vacuuming), you should leave the job to the experts who have the training, tools and products. If you are in need of carpet cleaning in Washington DC, call the professionals. Your carpet will be like new before you know it.