How to keep your carpets looking new for longer

If possible choose a wool carpet because its texture and resilience makes it is easy to clean, harder wearing and relatively stain resistant.

We increase wear and tear on our carpets by trampling soil and other debris onto them but there are several ways to reduce the damage we cause:

• Use doormats at entrances and at any transition from a hard surface onto carpet.
• Remove your shoes - and wipe your pet's paws - before walking on your carpet.
• Vacuum your carpet regularly as this prevents dirt build up. Vacuum twice a week where the carpet gets heavy use and three times a week if you have pets.
• Sprinkle your carpet with baking soda before you vacuum at least once a month to reduce odours, especially pet odours.
• Always clean up spills quickly, if left to react it will likely become a stain.
• Blot with a clean, absorbent cloth - do not rub as this may spread the stain.
• Carefully blot the area before applying cleaning solution to remove as much of the spill as possible.
• Test an inconspicuous area of carpet before using any cleaning solution.
• When you apply spot cleaner work from the outside to the inside of the stain to avoid spreading it. Blot up excess cleaning fluid.
• A clean white bath towel is excellent for drying carpet.
• To dry a really wet patch of carpet, stack of 3 or 4 towels on it and weight down with something heavy, leave overnight.
• If you haven’t dealt thoroughly with a stain it may reappear at the surface of your carpet. To prevent this, cover the stain with a towel and weigh down with something heavy overnight, then, clean as usual.

The following websites may be useful for advice relating to specific stains:

http://www.howtoremovecarpetstains.com/http://www.ncca.co.uk/firstaidforyourcarpet.htm