Carpet Care Tips for Winter

During winter it is almost impossible to avoid mud, leaves and water being tracked through a building. The ground is almost always wet, leaves are trampled and mashed into a dirty pulp and mud from grassy verges and gardens finds it’s way onto the pavements. For these reasons, it is important to develop a proactive carpet care plan to see you through the winter months and keep carpets clean.

Tip 1: Start outside  
One of the best ways to avoid dirt and soils from finding their way onto your carpets is to ensure outside areas are clean and well maintained. Keep flower beds, grassy areas and potted plants under control and ensure there is a clear and easy path for people to use. Unfortunately, the wetter and colder it gets, the more people take short cuts across grass so think about strategic placement of hedges, fences or even introducing a paved walkway. As for paved areas and pathways to the front door, keep them swept daily and ensure they are cleaned at regular intervals to remove the build-up or mud, moss and algae. This not only stops dirt being tracked in, it also eliminates potential slip hazards.

Tip 2: Lay down some mats
Entrance matting is literally the first defence against tracked in dirt. Invest in good quality matting as this will absorb a majority of water and trap the majority of soils stopping them from going further into the building. It is recommended to have different mats for the inside and outside. An external option would be a scraper style mat which people automatically wipe their feet on. Once inside, place a 100% textile mat down to trap any remaining soil and moisture. Depending on the area, around 25ft of internal entrance matting will be enough to do the job. For more information on entrance matting you can read our earlier blog ‘The Importance of Entrance Matting’ here.

Tip 3: Vacuum daily
Vacuuming carpets daily is another great way to tackle winter dirt. If carpets are left damp and dirty for long periods of time the chances of mould appearing are greater which will lead to that inevitable damp, musty smell lingering in entranceways. To avoid this, remove dirt daily with a good quality,  high suction vacuum  and consider heating and ventilation to help dry out carpets and avoid condensation appearing.

Tip 4: Be Prepared
Keeping outside areas clean, laying down entrance mats and vacuuming daily will get you very far in terms of keeping your carpets clean, however, sometimes you have to be ready for sudden, unforeseen soiling. Therefore it is always recommended to keep a carpet ‘first aid kit’ or first response cleaning kit close by to tackle spills and soiling as they happen. As a general rule is it advised to leave mud until it is dry which can then be vacuumed away, however, if it is very wet, or footfall in the area is high then faster removal may be required. 

Tip 5: Proactive not reactive cleaning
With the exception of unexpected sudden soiling, carpets should be regularly cleaned to avoid build-up of dirt and moisture, which can become trapped deep into the carpet fibres. A lot of people tend to only clean carpet when it looks visibly filthy, but unfortunately, by this time, a lot of damage has already been done. Wet cleaning may not be ideal either during the winter months as colder weather means rooms cannot be aired out and drying times almost double.

A great alternative to this is dry carpet cleaning . This process is quick, effortless and requires almost no drying time. Another benefit of dry carpet cleaning is that the entire surface area doesn’t need to be cleaned which makes the system perfect for spot cleaning. This means you can concentrate on the areas that matter most such as entranceways and routes with high levels of daily footfall. As there’s no drying time, once cleaned, they’re ready for use. See the below video for an overview on how the Cleantec Envirodri Dry Carpet Cleaning System works

Dry carpet cleaning is perfect for all year round carpet maintenance. If you would like more information on the dry carpet cleaning method please contact us.