With proper care, the carpeting in your home should last around ten years. New carpet is a big investment, so of course, you want to make sure you protect your investment to ensure it lasts as long as possible. Carpeting can get a lot of wear and tear over the years. With kids, pets, and other family members running around, spills, stains, and accidents are bound to happen. Sure, there are many ways to clean up after a mess has been made, but why not stop stains before they even happen? Here are six excellent ways to prevent carpet stains in your home:
Get a stain resistant treatment or protectant
Applying a stain resistant treatment or protectant to your carpet will add a kind of seal over the surface of your carpet to prevent all kinds of stains. Many new carpets come with this, but you can also buy them to apply yourself or have a professional apply one for you. While this protectant won’t prevent all stains, it will certainly help to protect your carpet and it will also make stains easier to remove.
Vacuum and clean your carpet regularly
Vacuuming regularly will help to reduce stains and remove dirt that you may not be able to see. It’s easy for dirt and debris to get trapped deep inside carpet, and this can cause damage and stains if it’s not removed. Frequent vacuuming is one of the best ways to keep carpet clean and ensure you don’t get a build-up of dirt. You should vacuum at least once a week (though more is better) and make sure to get to all areas of your carpet, even the ones that are hidden by furniture or rugs.
No shoes allowed
Every household has rules that family members must follow. When you’re coming up with the list of rules for you home, make sure you put some in place to protect your carpet! Make sure all family members take their shoes off before entering the house. This will ensure that you don’t drag in mud and dirt from outside and will greatly help keep your carpet fresh, clean, and stain-free.
READ MORE: How Mud Damages Carpet
Use plastic mats and rugs
If you really want to protect your carpeting from stains, it’s a great idea to put plastic mats or rugs under furniture and in high traffic areas of your home. If you eat in a carpeted room, it will protect from any food that accidentally falls off the table. Even if not, it will protect from every day spills, foot traffic, and even from furniture that may move around a lot and cause damage.
Treat spills as soon as they happen
Accidents happen and there’s not much you can do to stop them, however, the faster you treat them and clean them up, the less damage they’ll do. Don’t rub anything onto a spill, as this can cause the stain to set. Instead, dab up moisture to avoid damage and stains.
READ MORE: How to Get a Stain Out of a Carpet
Get your carpet professionally cleaned
No matter how clean you keep your carpet, it’s important to have it professionally cleaned at least once a year. This will give your carpet a deep, thorough cleaning, take care of any dirt of stains that you missed, and most importantly, it will help keep your carpet looking clean and fresh for longer.
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Thank you for sharing your tips! Vacuuming protects your carpet by removing all that excess dirt that causes the sand paper effect. This is the reason stain resistant carpets get weaker with time. There’s so much build up on the floor that it slowly takes away from those features leaving your carpet vulnerable! I strongly agree with the no shoes rule, and it has been the primary line of defense towards having a healthier carper. Hope that helps!