Winter isn’t an easy time for carpet owners. Carpets keep your house warm but `considering the aesthetic and monetary value that goes into them, it gets tough to maintain them during the time of snowfall, Christmas, and heavy footfall. All of these can permanently damage the carpets if you’re not careful. Here’s how you can avoid that.
Typical Carpet Cleaning Issues in Winter & Their Solutions
Snow and salt on the carpets
Most of the snow and salt apparently comes inside through shoes. How can you prevent it? There are two things you must do.
1. Place a snow rug. You must have had a welcome mat outside your house, but just inside, you need to keep a snow rug. It’s made of stronger material than regular carpets and wouldn’t be ruined due to snow or salt.
2. Insist on leaving the shoes right there near the snow rug. Place a shoe rack and ask every family member to follow the rule. Try to talk your guests into doing the same thing. You can keep a pair of slippers there so that they always have something warm to wear.
I suggested both of these things even in one of my other posts about carpet cleaning because it is truly a wonderful ritual to follow for a cleaner home.
2. Salt stains
Let’s say it happened. The salt somehow got in, and now it’s on your carpet, and it will apparently leave a stain. There’s a quick DIY fix to prevent that.
Mix equal portions of vinegar and water and put it on the affected area. Don’t rub or press hard. Be gentle and blot the area until the stain comes off. Once the area is clear, use a dry white towel to dab the area again and soak up excess water. Let the area dry. (My secret tip: I use a blow dryer on heat settings during such situations in winter. It helps the carpet dry quickly and eradicates the chances of mold.)
3. Dirty snow stains
The process to remove dirty snow stains is pretty much same as that of salt stains. The only difference is in the DIY carpet cleaning solution you’ll use. It should be the soapy water that you need to apply to the affected area and then follow the procedure mentioned in the previous point.
Vacuuming your carpet after you remove such stains is also a very good idea to remove off any excess material from the carpet surface.
4. Christmas tree
First, it’s about getting the tree inside. If you drag it from outside, it may catch dirt and snow which will obviously be left on your carpet. Then it’s the possibility of the leaks from the stand you’ll use to keep the Christmas tree. Here are some solutions for that.
Wrap your tree in a plastic sheet before you start dragging it out of your truck and bring it in. In this way, you can remove dirt and snow quickly before you bring it in inside your front door. Have a separate safe, waterproof surface where you’ll keep the stand. The stand shouldn’t be in direct contact with your carpet, and you should avoid over watering. There will be no leaks that way and no problems caused by the Christmas tree.
5. Humidity
Humidity is the most harmful thing for your carpet. In winters, humidity is because of the snow that manages to enter your house. It melts, and the water ends up increasing the humidity levels inside your home. It triggers mildew growth and affects your carpet.
To prevent it, you should regulate the humidity levels inside your home through proper HVAC settings. If the heat inside your home will be optimum, you’ll never have to deal with this issue.
6. Dirty carpets
Due to heavy footfall, the carpets get filthy during winter. It would have still been okay to live with a dirty carpet. I mean, we could just ignore it until spring. But the problem is that dirty carpets live much lesser than the clean ones. The carpets in a home do not last more than 3-4 years unless they’re properly maintained.
Therefore, proper vacuuming and carpet cleaning is a great solution. You need to be regular and consistent. You must also read my guide to clean carpets. It’ll help you a lot.
7. Professional carpet cleaning
If for some reason, you didn’t go for it during the fall, you shouldn’t refrain from doing it now. First of all, stop thinking that it'll leave a wet carpet and cause mold issues. There are dry carpet cleaning techniques that do not pose such dangers. And then it depends on the company you choose. If they have the proper equipment to dry your carpet quickly, they can do it. A professional carpet cleaning company will always suggest you the best way, so find one and ask them what can be done about your dirty carpet.
How do you find these solutions to your carpet cleaning woes in winter? If you like them, comment below.
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