The best method for combating carpet stains is to not get any in the first place. Here’s some quick tips for avoiding stains on your carpeting:

1) Camouflage — choose carpet coloring that hides dirt well. Earth tones and most colors in the brown family are excellent for this. Unfortunately, not every home can successfully blend in brown carpet of any shade. Other colors to go with are darker colors — reds, greens, blues. Don’t go too dark, though — black can show dirt as easily as white. If you must have white or black, consider area rugs for high-traffic-pattern places (entryways, hallways, intersections).

2) Regular cleaning and vacuuming. As long as you vacuum regularly, the dirt that naturally will come into your house won’t get a chance to be ground into the carpet fibers, and wont tend to attract lasting stains. Be sure to have your carpet cleaned at least annually — better to clean it before it begins showing signs of dirt or wear.

3) The Japanese have the right idea. Consider going with the alternative of not having shoe traffic on your carpeting. The solid soles of shoes can wear down the fibers of the carpeting, making it more prone to deep staining. And besides, thick, plush carpeting is a joy to walk on either barefoot or in stocking feet.

Any carpet will get dirt tracked onto it from time to time — that’s just normal wear and tear. If you have a regular schedule of vacuuming, you will minimize the effects of “normal” wear and tear, and your carpets will last longer automatically.

The frequency of vacuuming will obviously vary depending on the amount of traffic you have on your carpet. If you have heavy traffic, you may have to do light vacuuming every other day. If you don’t have much traffic, you may get away with every other week or every ten days.

Vacuuming removes dirt, foreign objects, and dust from the carpet. The less dirt that is sitting in the carpet at any given time, the more air can circulate among the fibers, allowing the fibers to “breathe” and keeping them cleaner naturally. Additionally, the more frequently you vacuum, the less often you will have to have the carpeting cleaned.

Active upkeep in the case of accidental spills is the best thing — if you do happen to have an accident and have a liquid or moist spill, clean it up immediately. Lay a dry cloth or towel on the spill to sop up as much liquid as possible, and then vacuum up whatever liquid may be left behind. If there is a large quantity of liquid, you may have to use a shop vac rather than your regular home vacuum. Generally, the quicker you react to a spill, the better your carpet will look in the long run.

If there is the beginning of a stain, be sure to use the proper stain remover to make sure your carpet remains looking as good as new.

We’ve all been there… red wine stain on the carpet, ink on the upholstery, grease on your clothes. Is there anything out there to remove a carpet stain of red wine without leaving a gaping hole in your carpet? There are many environmentally friendly cleaning products out there to help with stain removal on clothes, remove ink stains from couches and remove wine stains and carpet stains! One in particular is made from corn and coconut oil and works like a dream for stain removal on clothes and to remove ink stains. Another is a non-toxic and biodegradable powder that, when mixed with warm water, will remove wine stains from your carpet!

Remove carpet stains

Trying to remove carpet stains has been the cause of headaches since carpets were invented!! The stain that comes to mind is RED WINE… is there anything out there that will successfully remove wine stains from carpet? I’m so glad you asked, because there IS! My favorite and most effective product for removing wine stains and carpet stains is actually a powdered laundry brightener which can be mixed with warm water to form a paste-like solution. When I spilled an entire glass of red wine on our carpet, I wondered if this miracle product would remove wine stains as well as it brightened my laundry. Well, it worked!! An entire glass of red wine gone from my white carpet! I simply mixed the non-toxic and biodegradable powder into a glass of warm water and poured it directly on the carpet wine stain. After letting it sit for 1-5 minutes (depending on the stain), I blotted it with a white towel and voila, wine stain removed!!

Stain removal from clothes

I had tried everything to help with stain removal on clothes, specifically grease stains. I made the mistake of cooking in a cute new dress that I had purchased, and wouldn’t you know it, but the grease splattered right on the front of it! I tried everything to help with stain removal from my clothes, and finally found the perfect grease remover! This all-natural, non-toxic and biodegradable all-purpose cleaner made from corn and coconut oil worked like a dream! I simply applied it directly to the stain I wanted to remove from my clothes, worked it in with a toothbrush, and then put the item through the washing machine on the gentle cycle. Like a miracle, my pesky grease stain was gone and I now had a favorite stain removal from clothes product!

Remove Ink stain

We had just purchased some brand new covers for our couches in our living room, and wouldn’t you know it but my fiancée managed to make a 2-inch line of blue pen ink within hours of getting them put on! I went directly to my standby stain remover/cleaner to remove the ink stain. Made from corn and coconut oil, this non-toxic and biodegradable concentrate took it right out! I simply put a paper towel under the couch cover where I wanted to remove the ink stain (to absorb any excess), poured the concentrate directly on the couch cover, and used an old toothbrush to work it into the stain. In 2 minutes it worked to remove the ink stain right from the couch cover and it looked good as new (which was a good thing because it was!).

To learn more about non toxic, environmentally safe stain removal products, please visit my website at www.brendaszgatti.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenda_Szgatti

Which is the most important of my carpet care tips? You’ll find it at the top of the list below. Use the five other tips as well, and you’ll get years more use from your carpet.

Top Carpet Care Tips

1. Keep your carpet clean. Sand and dirt act like thousands of little razor blades that cut carpet fibers. Damaged carpet stains more easily, and it’s harder to remove the stains from it as well. Vacuum often to remove dirt, and your carpet will last longer.

2. Use rugs. Put rugs outside and inside the front door, and any other entrances. They can catch much of the dirt that people bring in on their feet. That means less vacuuming and longer carpet life.

3. Remove shoes. This is a sure way to make carpet last longer. If you have a nice home with nice carpet, people usually aren’t offended by this policy.

4. Clean stains quickly and properly. If using a cleaning solvent other than water, apply it to a cloth first, and work it in from the outside of the stain to the center, so you don’t spread the spot. Apply the cleaner, extract (blot), rinse, extract, and repeat until you can’t get more of the stain out. Extract solvents completely, and dry the carpet quickly when you’re done. If there is any stain remaining deeper down in the carpet, quick drying prevents it from wicking up to the surface.

5. Use a shop-vac. It’s a great help when cleaning stains. You can’t just suck out the stain, but you can repeatedly wash and rinse the area, and suck the solution out each time. It’s more effective than blotting up the water with cloth, mostly because you won’t have the patience to wash, rinse and extract enough times if you’re using paper towels or cloth.

6. Vacuum before cleaning. If you use a portable machine, at least get the water as hot as you can, and dry the carpet quickly, using fans to move the air around. You won’t match the results of a good truck-mount hot water extraction unit. However, if you want to save money, doing your own cleaning can lengthen the time between expensive professional cleanings.

Want carpet clean enough for the kids to play on? Do you want it to last for years longer than normal? Just use these basic carpet care tips.

Steve Gillman has worked in the carpet cleaning industry for years. For more on carpet-care, carpet stains, and specific stain-by-stain removal instructions, visit www.HowToRemoveCarpetStains.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Gillman

Pet odor and stain removal from carpet does not require the help of a professional…

As a carpet cleaning company, we receive calls every day in regards to how to get a stain out. One of the more “popular” problems we see is how to remove dog or cat urine from carpet.

When your special family member does have his little (or not so little) accidents, the most important thing is getting it up immediately. Of course, this is not always possible, often we do not find our gifts until after work or even the next day.

When this happens, the urine has soaked not only into the carpet face and backing but also into the pad that lies underneath and sometimes even into the slab. At this point, we have two options.

The first method is to pour a gallon of 50% water and 50% vinegar (white) onto the carpet and let it set for a couple of minutes. The vinegar helps to break up the urine salts and basically liquefy the dried urine. After, you let it set, you need to get it out. This is where a wet-vac comes in handy.

Using a good wet-vac, you need to extract all the liquid in the carpet and the pad, this can be accomplished by applying lots of pressure with the wand or hose and do a small spot at a time. After you feel you have the majority of it up, you need to repeat the above steps using another gallon of 100% water to act as a rinse.

A second method is one of the more successful ways of dealing with the problem but also the most difficult. Using this method, you will need to pull the carpet back (carpet is bound on the edges using a tact strip of nails) then cut out the soiled pad.

After the pad is removed, clean the soiled spot of the carpet with a good carpet shampooer, front and back. Also, you will need to treat the slab or wood sub floor with bleach then put in new carpet pad (can be purchased at most big boxes). Replace the soiled pad and use regular masking tape to tape the top of the new pad with the existing undamaged pad.

Last you need to put the carpet back on the tact by stretching it to the edges and pressing it back down onto the strips. This last method is best if only used when the stain is near the edges of a room. If the stain is in the middle or near a doorway, you are going to have a tough time getting the carpet back in tight which will result in it possibly wrinkling later on.

We hope our tips help you keep your carpet in the best shape possible for many years to come.

Gary Andrews has over 45 years experience in cleaning carpet and is the founder of Andrews Carpet Cleaning.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Andrews

Taking care of your carpet can be quite difficult. If you have small kids or babies you might find yourself with a difficult milk stain to remove. In this article you will learn about removing the stain and all the associated problems with milk.

The problem with milk is that you need to get out all of the material. If you fail to remove all of the material you might end up with an odor problem later on. There is nothing worse than the odor of spoiled month old milk. The first thing you need to do is get a neutral detergent like Joy or Dawn. Mix a teaspoon of the detergent with 2 cups of warm water. Put the mixture into a hand spray bottle and lightly mist the area. Blot up the solution with a clean white towel. Repeat this process several times until you are sure no material is transferring. Be sure to not over saturate the spot. Next you should make another mixture of a tablespoon of ammonia to one cup of water. Mix it into a sprayer and mist the area. Blot up the solution and repeat. Finally blot the spot with plain water to rinse as much residue out as possible. Let the area dry thoroughly before putting the carpet back to use.

As you can see, it is not that hard to remove a milk spill. Just take your time and be thorough. If you believe the milk has penetrated the backing of the carpet and found its way into the padding of the carpet you might be best off contacting a professional. Good luck.

Learn about Los Angeles area carpet cleaners at the authors website on carpet cleaning.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_C