They come in countless designs, colors, thicknesses and textures. Round, square or rectangular. Large, medium and small. Carpets are an essential element in homes when temperatures begin to drop. In addition to being decorative – some handmade ones are authentic hand-woven jewels – they are a very good option to give warmth to our rooms and have a warm surface on which to walk without slippers in some areas of the house. Carpets are a perfect insulator, but they are also a magnet for all kinds of dirt.
They are ideal for the hall, the living room, in long stretches of hallways and in the bedrooms, where they can be a perfect solution to create a play, rest or reading area at ground level for the cooler months. Except for the doormats that we usually have at the entrances of our homes, we usually use the rest of the rugs only in autumn and winter. Especially those that are thicker.
Therefore, at the end of the cold season we will have to do a deep cleaning of our carpets and tapestries, roll them up so that they do not get damaged and store them correctly so that when we want to use them again they are still perfect.
If you are one of those who collect rugs and you like to use them at home, you will already know that they are one of the household items that concentrate the most dust on their fabrics. If you have pets, you must have gone crazy on occasion trying to remove all the hair that is trapped inside.
It is very important to clean our carpets daily, especially if you live with someone at home with allergies and respiratory problems. But we will also have to carry out a deep cleaning from time to time to eliminate the dirt that accumulates and the stains that may occur on a daily basis.
Obviously, the most effective and quickest thing is to have a good vacuum cleaner that will do the hard work of removing dust with virtually no effort. The traditional method is much more expensive and consists of taking our rugs out to the window, patio or terrace of the house so that they can air out and shake off the dust they have accumulated with a broom handle or other similar device. So if we have a vacuum cleaner, the task will be much more bearable.
Baking soda, talcum powder or vinegar
Although there is always the possibility of leaving them in the hands of professionals for dry cleaning and complete disinfection, with a little time and patience at home we can also obtain magnificent results. We tell you how:
- To eliminate dust mites, some stains and the bad smell that accumulates in carpets, a good trick is to use baking soda, which we will distribute over the surface of the tapestry. We recommend doing it with a strainer or similar, to sprinkle it as finely as possible. Once the carpet is covered, we will also spray cleaning vinegar. We will let the baking soda act together with the vinegar for at least half an hour. After that time, and making sure that the carpet is dry, we are going to vacuum up the remains of the baking soda.
- If what we really need is to get rid of a more localized stain, we will act differently depending on its origin. For example, if the stain in question is grease, we can use talcum powder. Here the reaction capacity we have will be essential to eliminate dirt. The sooner we realize that the stain has occurred, the more effective we will be. What we will do is cover the stain with talcum powder, let it sit for a while and then, as we did with the baking soda, vacuum up the remains.
- If the stain is from tomato or a similar sauce, we can apply hairspray or hydrogen peroxide. And if it is soda or other more persistent types of stains, we will rub gently with a cloth moistened with a mixture of water and ammonia. What we will do is dilute 20 ml of ammonia per 100 ml of water. Don’t forget to protect your hands from this product with gloves. If the rug is small and thin, we can put it in a basin with this solution and rinse well in a short machine wash for delicate fabrics.
- Another method is to use vinegar and lemon. To do this, we will mix the juice of one lemon, a cup of white vinegar, a couple of cups of very hot water and a few drops of neutral soap. Using a sprayer, we will cover the stains on the carpet with this liquid. Let it rest for five to ten minutes and begin to rub the stain well.
- If what we specifically want is to eliminate the bad smell from the rug or carpet, we can sprinkle table salt on its surface and let it sit for between 15 and 30 minutes and then vacuum it up. It can be thin or thick.
How to store our rugs
Before starting to use any of these methods, you have to take into account what fabric your carpet is and carry out a test in advance in a corner to avoid unpleasant surprises and ruining it.
If after applying these methods your carpets still have a stain that is very difficult to remove or so much dirt has accumulated that you do not see results easily, you can resort to some specific products that we find in small and large stores and neighborhood stores for cleaning carpets. . Or even take your tapestries to a dry cleaner to have them thoroughly dry cleaned by a professional.
With the arrival of spring, we will have to make sure that we have the rugs very clean before rolling them up again for storage. The pile part is rolled inwards, while the base of the rug should be on the outside. If possible, it is best to package them in some way to protect them from dust. And to store them, the correct position is horizontal to prevent them from deforming and without exerting any pressure on them.
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