Most carpets are usually designed to be stain-resistant. However, this does not make them stain-proof. Your carpet will require some maintenance now and then. For the occasional cleaning, vacuuming and sweeping will do the trick. However, you'll also have to steam-clean the carpet once or so a year. Steam-cleaning your carpet may not be as simple as it seems. If it's your first time steam cleaning your carpet, you can make a few mistakes that could make the whole carpet cleaning exercise a failure. With these 3 tips, however, you will make your DIY carpet steam cleaning project a success.

Move Your Furniture

You want to expose as much of the carpet as possible because steam cleaners aren't usually as manoeuvrable as vacuums. Therefore, move your furniture to create more space for you to work with little effort and to get to every part of the carpet. Moving your furniture also protects it from any damage that may occur during the cleaning. If you're unable to move some of the furniture perhaps because it's heavy, consider sliding a plastic film, wax paper, wood blocks, foils, etc. underneath. Doing that will protect the legs of your furniture from the moisture of your steam cleaner.

Vacuum First and Handle Stains

Steam cleaning tends to work more effectively on a carpet that's already vacuumed. That's because vacuuming will fluff up your carpet and allow the steam cleaner to penetrate better and clean the carpet fibres. Therefore, you want to vacuum your carpet thoroughly, going over every section multiple times and working slowly to allow the suction from the vacuum cleaner to remove all the deeply embedded dust and other dirt.

You also need to take care of the stains because steam cleaners aren't usually designed to lift the deep, set-in stains. Using a carpet stain remover and a piece of cloth, carefully dab at the stains. Rubbing or scrubbing the stains may only work them deeper into your carpet, which is why dabbing is recommended instead.

Pick the Right Time to Steam Clean

Drying is a crucial part of your steam cleaning project. You have to pick a day and time when your carpet can dry quickly. If your carpet doesn't dry quickly, mould and mildew can set in. Since steam cleaning isn't something you regularly do, consider scheduling it for the warmer months. You can easily open your windows then to speed up the carpet drying process because proper ventilation is also essential. You can also consider turning on your air conditioner as well as fans if you have any to enhance ventilation. Turning on your dehumidifier can also work because if the air is too humid, your carpet may take forever to dry.

To learn more about carpet steam cleaning, consider contacting carpet steam cleaning services. They can either help you find the right products to use or they can complete the task for you.