Useful Tips On How Maintain A Clean Carpet With Pets In The Home

When you enjoy the comfort, warmth, and look of carpet and also have pets in the home, you definitely have to take extra steps to maintain your carpets. There are lots of things that pets do, including shed, carry in extra dirt, have fleas, and occasionally urinate or defecate on the carpet. Each of these problems has a solution that you can easily do and since usually your pet is your best friend in the world, they’re worth it. Here are some tips to help you take good care of your carpets if you’re a pet owner.

Vacuum Often And Use An Excellent Quality Machine

This can’t be stressed enough, since most of the dirt that falls off of a pet, and your shoes, does so on a daily basis and then sifts its way deep down inside the pile where it tends to cause other problems. First, there is the problem with the grit, in the dirt. This acts like tiny bits of sand paper and continually grinds away at the carpet fibers. Eventually, it will wear them down and you get wear patterns on your carpeting. These are hard to fix since there is actually less fiber there due to wear.

This can be combated by vacuuming your carpet with a strong vacuum that has a beater bar in the head. This should be done several times a week to pick up all of the grit. At the same time, it will also collect the dander, which is dead skin cells, fleas and their eggs, plus most of the sweat and scents that animals produce as well.

Any Accidents Should Be Handled Immediately

If your dog has an accident take action right away. The longer the urine has a chance to soak in the deeper into the carpet and pad it goes. Take a dry towel and soak up as much as possible, then spray the area with water mixed with dish soap and do it again. Continue the process until every last bit of urine has been absorbed. Then take some carpet deodorizer and sprinkle the area following the instructions. You need to remove the scent completely or the dog will return to the same area and urinate again. Vacuum thoroughly afterwards to remove most of the deodorizer.

If your dog gets stuck in the house too long and defecates, that should also be cleaned up immediately. Usually there is less fluids and so it can be easily picked up and removed with nothing having soaked into the carpet. Still, you should use some deodorizer in the area to make sure there is no scent left, and vacuum as well.

With Pets You Should Have Your Carpet Professionally Steam Cleaned

Most carpet manufacturers will tell you to have your carpets steam cleaned about every 6 months or so to extend the lifetime of the carpet and experience fewer smells, tracking, and stains. However, if you have pets, you should consider cleaning your carpets at least every 3 months instead. Pets have a lot of dander, track in far more dirt, and then there are those accidents. By taking action and making sure that all of the dirt and other pet byproducts are removed from deep inside the fibers, you’ll definitely extend the useful life of your carpets.

Steam cleaning also kills nearly all fleas because of the heat and the detergent. Plus most of the rest get sucked up when you extract the water which helps eliminate almost all of them. Flea larvae live on the dander and other organic matter in the carpets and by keeping them clean, you remove their source of food. When there is no food they can’t grow or reproduce.

Those are the best tips for taking care of your carpet when you have pets. It’s not a lot of work, just a few minutes a couple times a week. And your pet will thank you for it since they like a clean smelling carpet as well.