Clean carpets feel synonymous with spring cleaning, don’t you think? Carpet that looks and feels like a pro cleaned it is even better. Spring is a great time to deep clean your carpet, freshen up your floors and give them a thorough cleaning. Through the years I’ve tried many carpet cleaning machines and even more cleaning solutions. Come see my favorites and recommendations for how to clean carpets like a pro.
First, do you need a carpet cleaning machine? Not necessarily but I can say that with 3 kids and 2 dogs, ours has paid for itself many times over. You can also rent a machine but if you can, I recommend purchasing one so you can use it for cleaning up little and big messes. It comes in handy if you have any middle of the night cleaning emergencies.
This is the one I have and recommend – it’s fairly easy to clean and while it’s heavy, it works great! I like owning a machine because I can do a bedroom as needed or just the hallway. Once you have your carpet cleaner or have rented a machine, you’re ready to get started.
Decide on what method you want to use. Depending on the state of my carpet, I choose a cleaning solution. Here’s what I recommend:
Fill up your tank with your cleaning solution of choice and hot water – this makes a big difference and allows the solution to fully dissolve and works at getting stains out too. Spot test if you haven’t tried it on your carpet before.
Pre-treat stains with your carpet cleaner (the one I recommend has a ’spot shot’ that you can aim at stains) or mix a little bit of the solution and water in a spray bottle and spray on stains. Let it work for 15 minutes or so. Alternatively, if you have a favorite carpet stain remover you could use that too. I like this one. I like to do a little spot treatment on the stairs and high traffic areas before doing the full carpets.
I lay down a large towel at the bottom of the steps steps and any other areas where someone could slip and as a spot to put the carpet cleaner as I am getting started. This avoids and drips and slips on the hard surface floors.
Once I have everything set up and pre-treated, I zip through the carpeted areas that I want to deep clean and shampoo. Open windows and turn on fans to speed up the drying process. Typically it takes a couple hours to dry fully.
Once I’m done with the carpets, it’s time to clean the components and tanks. Check out that dirty water – yuck!
I put everything in the utility sink, empty the tanks, and wash everything thoroughly and let it dry before putting it away.
Don’t you love clean carpets? It feels so good to get it checked off my spring cleaning checklist!
You can see all of my Spring Cleaning Favorites here on my Amazon Favorites page too! Looking for more Spring Cleaning content?
Pretreating your carpet is essential before shampooing or deep cleaning. It helps loosen dirt and grease and remove stains. The enzymes in the pretreatment spray break down stains and soil. Pretreating carpet before cleaning eases your work and shortens deep cleaning time.
Pro tip: Lightly spraying the entire carpet with pretreat will get you a better clean than cleaning only with the machine, especially if you let it sit for a few minutes. Don’t spray too much, though. You can over-do it. If you dont remove all the soap when you clean your carpet, it will attract dirt.
Are your carpets really dirty? Do you question what color they used to be or use furniture to cover stains? If your carpets have seen better days, or you intend to keep your carpets as fresh as possible, we are here to share our tips on the best ways to shampoo carpet.
After you get out your carpet cleaner, fill the clean tank to the line with hot (not boiling) tap water. Hot water does a better job cleaning than cold but, if you boil it, you run the risk of melting parts of your carpet cleaner. Add formula to the tank according to the bottle directions. It is important to use the carpet cleaner solution that is specially designed to go with your machine. It will deliver great cleaning results and prevent damage that can occur with homemade concoctions.
If you are serious about shampooing your whole carpet, you’re going to have to move furniture out of the way first, after all you may be hiding spots under there and we want to get this carpet clean! Vacuum the entire area to get any loose dirt or hair out of your way.
We get a lot of questions on the best way to clean carpet. Here is our expert recommendation for cleaning the really dirty, or even not-so-dirty, carpet in your home.
Once I have everything set up and pre-treated, I zip through the carpeted areas that I want to deep clean and shampoo. Open windows and turn on fans to speed up the drying process. Typically it takes a couple hours to dry fully.
You can see all of my Spring Cleaning Favorites here on my Amazon Favorites page too! Looking for more Spring Cleaning content?
Once I’m done with the carpets, it’s time to clean the components and tanks. Check out that dirty water – yuck!
Clean carpets feel synonymous with spring cleaning, don’t you think? Carpet that looks and feels like a pro cleaned it is even better. Spring is a great time to deep clean your carpet, freshen up your floors and give them a thorough cleaning. Through the years I’ve tried many carpet cleaning machines and even more cleaning solutions. Come see my favorites and recommendations for how to clean carpets like a pro.
Decide on what method you want to use. Depending on the state of my carpet, I choose a cleaning solution. Here’s what I recommend:
5 Tips To Clean Your Carpet Like A Pro
FAQ
What do you spray on carpet before shampooing?
What not to do when shampooing carpet?
Why does my carpet look dirtier after shampooing?
How do you pretreat a carpet before shampooing?
The best way to pretreat a carpet before shampooing is with a liquid enzyme cleaner. Enzyme cleaners are specially formulated to break down tough stains and odors, so they’re ideal for carpets that have built up dirt and grime. Additionally, these products also help loosen ground-in dirt, making it easier to remove when steam cleaning.
How often should you Shampoo Your carpet?
Thus, it’s a good idea to shampoo your carpet once or twice a year, especially if you have pets in the home. Carpet shampooing can be accomplished by hand or steam cleaning using heat, water, and detergent to loosen and remove tough stains, spills, and odors.
How to pretreat carpets before steam cleaning?
The first step in how to pretreat carpets before steam cleaning is moving any furniture out of the room. This will make it easier for you to clean every area of the carpet, and reduce the risk of accidentally damaging your furniture by having it too close to the steam cleaner.
Can you use pretreat to clean a carpet?
Pro tip: Lightly spraying the entire carpet with pretreat will get you a better clean than cleaning only with the machine, especially if you let it sit for a few minutes. Don’t spray too much, though. You can over-do it. If you don’t remove all the soap when you clean your carpet, it will attract dirt.