As the age-old saying goes, our homes are our castles. They are where we hold all of our most treasured possessions and make a lifetime’s worth of memories.
When people enter our homes, they are seeing what we are like and, as such, we often treat our home with respect and care.
For some, this means that parts of the home are immaculate and tidy for guests, while other parts are a bit messier and more personal. For others, it means that the entire home is clean, tidy, and presentable with not even a glove or a hair out of place.
Whichever person you are, I think we can all agree that it’s nice to have a clean home!
Most of the time, this means doing a bit of washing up, hoovering, or scrubbing the floors, but there comes a point in the year for the deep clean, where you spend a day blitzing everything from top to bottom.
For a lot of areas of the home, it is easy to determine how often it needs to be cleaned and washed, but for carpets – it can be a little tricker.
Sure, you need to hoover regularly, but how often do you shampoo your carpet? And how often should you?
Well, we’ve got the answers for you
How Often Should You Shampoo A Carpet?
There are a few different ways to look at this, depending on your own home and carpeting style.
The most common rule of thumb you might hear about is to shampoo your carpets once a year to every 18 months depending on the level of use from the carpet, but it is a little more complicated than that.
At its simplest – you should shampoo your carpet when it needs it! If you’ve spilled some wine on your carpet, dropped some food or it’s just looking pretty dirty – then get out the shampoo, it’s time.
That being said – there are a few good guidelines we can help you out with:
Wool & Synthetic Carpets
If you have normal wool or hardy synthetic carpet, you can shampoo them more often, as they can stand up to more pressure over longer periods than other materials.
In fact, because they are a tougher material dirt, grime and spills often get caught in them more easily – and as such, they require shampooing more often.
Plush Pile & Saxony Cut Carpets or Shag Rugs
For softer materials, such as plush pile, Saxony cut carpets or shag rugs, don’t overdo the shampooing if you can help it.
These materials are soft and delicate, and shampooing them too much can ruin your carpet. Keep shampooing to a yearly routine with these materials unless they are in desperate need of a deep clean.
Aside from material, there are other things to consider when working out how often to shampoo your carpet.
The first is – who is in your household?
If more than two people live in your house, you have kids, you have pets, or you have some combination of all three, then you need to shampoo that carpet pretty regularly.
You don’t want to stop your kids from going on their garden scavenger hunts or outdoor play sessions – but you will have to accept that pets and kids are messy by nature, it’s not their fault, they just interact with the world in a different way, and no matter how clean the other person is in your home, an additional person will create twice the mess, just by being there.
If you live in a place with a wet climate, then you will need to shampoo that carpet more often. Rain means mud, mud means dirty shoes, and dirt will find its way into the house, even if you are careful and take off your shoes at the door.
What Should You Do In Preparation For Shampooing The Carpet?
First things first – make sure that the shampoo or carpet cleaner you’ve chosen is suitable for your particular carpet.
Many harsh cleaners can actually damage your carpet further if they are unsuitable. Check with the carpet manufacturer if you are unsure.
Second, you need to decide whether or not you want to down the ‘manual labor’ path of hand shampooing or, take the work out a bit by purchasing/hiring a shampooing machine. You’ll save a few dollars doing it by hand, but you will have to use a bit of elbow grease!
So, you are confident that have your shampoo or carpet cleaner ready to go and you know how you want to do it – now you need to remove your furniture and any other items from the room so the carpet is completely clear of everything and easy to access.
Your next step is to note any stains, spots or hard-to-reach areas that will require a little extra work. We actually have a brilliant DIY carpet stain remover recipe that will help you get on top of these.
Finally, the last thing to do before starting your shampoo is to give the room a thorough vacuuming.
This is so no loose material or muck remains on the carpet that could halt the cleaning process or smear across the carpet when you shampoo it. It is also so no parasites, like dust mites, carpet beetles or fleas, can remain on the carpet after you’ve gone through the trouble of cleaning it.
Once you’ve thoroughly vacuumed, empty the bag right away, so these parasites can’t make their way back onto your carpet.
Now – you are good to start your shampoo!
What Should You Do After Shampooing The Carpet?
Once you have finished shampooing the carpet and everything is cleaned to your satisfaction, there are a couple more steps you should do before you put everything back to the way it was.
First, make sure there is no excess moisture on the carpet.
A little moisture is fine, but if you put your fingers on the carpet, and it is wet, then you need to go over it with a wet & dry vacuum and suction it again, or alternativly, open your windows and doors and give it time to properly dry out..
After your carpet is dry, you need to vacuum it once again.
The shampooing is quite an intense process and will no doubt pull particles and fibres out of the carpet, which you will want to vacuum up and collect.
Once you have done all this, you can move the furniture back into the room and use the room as you like.
Conclusion
Shampooing a carpet can be a pain to do, however, it’s a necessary evil and always leaves your home feeling extra fresh and clean.
Hopefully, by following the instructions set out for you here, it’s a little easier, more efficient and dare I say, enjoyable?
Happy shampooing!
P.S. – if you need a few reasons to shampoo your caret today, watch this video!
