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Refresh Your Carpets With These Three Tips

Nothing feels better underfoot than plush, clean carpets. According to the folks at Merrymaids.com, there are four main types of carpeting that you’ll typically find in a home: berber, nylon, olefin or wool. When determining how to clean your carpet, you need to know which material you’re working with because it determines which products you use and which solutions should be avoided at all costs.

You can rent professional-grade carpet cleaners at many grocery or hardware stores. The machine should be labeled with user instructions, as well as the recommended cleaning products.

Before cleaning your carpet with a machine, you need to do three things:

- Make sure you’ve properly budgeted the time to clean your carpet and let it dry thoroughly. (You’ll probably need a full weekend.)

- Check to be certain that the machine and product you select are safe to use on your carpeting.

- Perform a spot test on a small inconspicuous area. Let this dry completely before cleaning all of your carpet so you can ensure there won’t be any discoloration or other damage.

If you are simply struggling with a couple of wine stains, the team at Widmerscleaners.com in Cincinnati, Ohio suggest squirting a bit of shaving cream to remove stains quickly and efficiently and, most importantly, without damaging your rug.

Apply the shaving cream with an old shaving brush, allow it to “work its magic” for a couple of minutes then use a damp, clean rag to wipe up the shaving cream.

Remove tough grease stains from your rug by sprinkling flour and then laying a piece of brown paper on top of it. Press it against the stain and wait for 20 minutes – the grease will transfer to the brown paper and your rug will be as good as new.

If you have a pet stain that has dried on an oriental rug, Benham Rugs of Dallas says liberally sprinkle it with baking soda. Leave the baking soda on for a few hours, then, gently vacuum or sweep your rug.
The baking soda will help to minimize any odors and stains.