Winters bring cold temperatures, icy winds, and white snow. Even though it falls white, snow brings a lot of dirt with it into our homes, and especially onto our carpets. Since our homes have become our safe haven this year, it is so important to keep them clean. The carpet cleaning experts at Chet’s Cleaning want to share some tips with you to help prepare your carpets for winter so you can keep your home looking and feeling its best this holiday season.
- Start the habit right now (before the snow begins to fall) to remove your shoes at the door. When you stop and think about all the dirt (and who knows what else) your shoes walk through every day, it is easy to make the decision to not allow shoes to be worn inside your home and on your carpet. Snow and dirt make mud, and mud pushed into your carpet as you walk makes a mess. To greatly limit the amount of dirt, grime, and outside elements from building up in your carpet, leave the shoes at the door. Putting a shoe rack or cubbies in your entryways is a great way to remind yourself, and your visitors, to remove shoes and gives you an organized place to store them. Trust us, the more you limit your carpet’s exposure to dirt, the cleaner it will be – and the best way to do that is to take off your shoes. This can save you a costly carpet cleaning in the future.
Place a floor mat inside each exterior door. Not only will the rugs and floor mats make your entry ways seem more welcoming, but they also catch quite a bit of dirt and moisture from entering and exiting your home. One of the best ways to keep your carpets and floors clean is to over them with mats or rugs, especially by doors. It is worth it to invest in good quality mats that will remain sturdy in their place upon opening and closing doors and with high foot traffic. Bonus; if you have a draft that comes in under your doors some mats can even act as a type of weather strip to keep the cold air out. - Keep your porch and areas around your exterior doors clean. The area right outside your doors can be a huge contributing factor to how much dirt is introduced to your home. If leaves and debris are left on your porch this fall, and then snow and dirt is allowed to build up over the winter, it is going to find its way inside when you open the door and walk through it. Now is the perfect time to clean off your porch and walkway around your door to be sure that it is clean before winter, and then keep it clear throughout the winter. This will help to reduce the amount of dirt coming in and finding its way into your carpet.
- Make vacuuming a regular chore (if it isn’t one already). Frequent vacuuming will help to remove surface layer dirt and prevent it from getting embedded further into your carpet. If dirt is allowed to build up on your carpet, it will end up getting pushed down into the carpet fibers, which creates a perfect environment for harboring harmful bacteria and contaminants. A good practice is to adopt healthy carpet cleaning practices by vacuuming at least once a week, and more frequently in high traffic areas.
- Our last bit of advice is to invest in carpet cleaning before fall turns into winter. Not only will this make your home feel cleaner and more inviting for the holidays, but it will also make your carpets extra prepared for the upcoming winter months of snow, mud, and grime. At Chet’s Cleaning, our carpet cleaning experts know how important clean carpet is to the overall health of your home so let us get your carpets cleaned before winter sets in.