Carpeted floors in a home are overwhelmingly common, and for good reason. When properly maintained they can go a long way to making the home a pleasure to be in; providing comfort, warmth, and a visually pleasing aesthetic. If, however, you drop the ball and fail to keep your carpet well looked after, you can quickly find yourself assaulted by allergies, bad odours, and a general sense of uncleanliness.

Here's what you need to know about keeping your carpets clean and presentable.

Vacuum Regularly

Vacuuming regularly is the first line of defence in ensuring that your carpet stays in good condition. Sanitation experts often recommend that carpets are vacuumed around 3 times per week, with particularly "high-traffic" areas of carpeting (i.e. hallways) being vacuumed as often as once a day. The key is to vacuum before dust, dirt, and allergens can become compacted deeply into the fibres—in which case the carpet would likely need to treated professionally. Regular vacuuming allows you to nip the problem in the bud before it develops.

Vacuums should be strong and should undergo regular maintenance checks (make sure that any brush attachments are cleaned regularly, that pipes are not obstructed, etc.) in order to ensure that they do their job to the right standard.

Dab, Don't Scrub

No matter how careful you are with your carpets, or how much you insist that guests try not to spill anything on them, it is inevitable that sooner or later it will happen. Once you've ended up with a glass of juice or a dollop of sauce defiling your lovely floor, don't despair—just follow these tips quickly:

1. Wet the stained area very lightly with water, and add a drop of either vinegar, soda, or a gentle, high-quality stain removing shampoo. Many carpets are pre-treated with a stain-guard while still in the factory, so these mild agents often provide enough extra "kick" to lift the stain by themselves.

2. Use a clean dry cloth, and gently dab at the stained area. Scrubbing will damage the carpet fibres and will likely compact the stain into the fabric. Furthermore, it risks driving water through the carpet itself and into the pad beneath. If this happens, mould, rot, and mildew will set in. This will create a bad aroma, risk damaging the carpet, and will also release potential allergens into your environment.

Use a Hot-Water Extraction Cleaner Once a Year

The day-to-day routine of carpet maintenance will go a great way to protecting your carpet from serious damage and keeping it to a respectable standard of cleanliness. It won't, however, prevent the slow accumulation of dirt completely. Every once in a while—preferably around once a year—you will need to bring out the big guns and treat your carpets with a hot-water extraction cleaner.

A hot-water extraction cleaner works, as the name suggests, by pumping hot water (mixed with a cleaning agent) directly into the carpet and quickly extracting it, and all of the compacted dirt which has subsequently been loosened at the same time.

These machines are similar but not identical to steam-cleaners. The main differences is that steam-cleaners rely on boiling water (i.e. steam) which is more liable to cause damage to the material of the carpet. For this reason hot-water extraction cleaners (as they use hot, but not boiling water) are usually seen as preferable.

Professional cleaning companies such as P H J Services will almost always offer this service as standard. If you'd like to do it yourself, however, these devices can typically be rented from standard hardware stores.