During winter, carpets can come under attack from numerous different sources. So, in order to make sure your carpets are protected from potential damage, follow these useful tips.
1. Add mats to entrances
Winter weather can wreak havoc on a carpet, so make sure it doesn’t come into contact with ice, snow, soggy leaves, grit and salt from outdoors, which can damage carpet fibres. You might also receive more visitors during the festive period, which means more dirt potentially getting walked into a carpet.
To avoid winter weather damaging your carpets, place a protective mat by all entrances, so that shoes can be wiped before stepping inside. Don’t forget to get into the habit of taking footwear off, as well, before entering the house.
You can prevent the worst of the winter weather being tracked indoors on your footwear by making sure outside areas, such as driveways and pathways leading up to your property, are kept clean and free from dirt and debris.
2. Spills and stains
During the festive season, in particular, you might receive a flurry of visitors to your home, and may even celebrate the turn of a New Year with a gathering of friends. With more people at home, the end result could be a carpet that bears the brunt of mulled wine spillages, chocolate and mince pie smears, and other spills and stains.
If you’re hosting a get-together, consider moving your gathering to the kitchen or a space that doesn’t have carpeted floors, or add a protective sheet or cover to a carpet. If spillages do occur, tackle them straight away.
Offices and retail spaces may also experience increased footfall during the winter season, especially in the run-up to Christmas, so cleaning carpets regularly can ensure their appearance won’t start to suffer.
3. Christmas tree care
Many people adorn their homes with a real Christmas tree over the festive period, but before you get carried away with decorating it, make sure your carpet won’t come to any harm. It’s vital that the tree is placed in a proper container of the right size, and that there is no risk of any water leaking out onto the carpet. You might wish to place a waterproof mat under the tree container, but avoid using one where the colour might bleed if the mat does get wet, such as with felt.
If you’ve got presents placed under the tree, take care when watering the tree, so that no water spills onto the gifts and potentially causes the dye in wrapping paper to run onto the carpet.
Pine needles can be notorious for dropping and getting stuck inside carpet fibres, and a standard vacuum cleaner doesn’t always pick them up effectively. A rubber broom or brush is often better at getting rid of dropped pine needles, so keep on top of this throughout the festive season.
Plus, keep an eye out for any tree sap, which may have dropped onto a carpet, making a sticky mess. Remove it immediately with a mix of water and alcohol, dabbed onto a clean cloth.
4. Candle safety
Dark nights and cold days call for cosy candlelight, but if candle wax ends up on a carpet, it can spoil the occasion. Take care when lighting candles and always place them in a container or on a holder to prevent wax from spilling onto a carpet.
Should it be too late to heed the warning, there are steps you can take to try to remove wax from a carpet. First you need to let it harden, and then try to carefully remove as much of it as possible with a blunt knife. To remove the residues, many people swear by placing a warm iron over a brown paper bag, covering the waxy area. The heat from the iron should encourage the bag to absorb the remainder of the wax. However, do take care with any DIY candle wax removal attempts, as some fabrics might melt or suffer damage. If in doubt, call up the carpet cleaning London experts.
5. Fireplace rugs
Nothing beats a real fire when it’s cold outside, but before you get carried away with basking in the glow and appealing warmth, make sure that sparks and embers from the fire can’t fly out of the hearth and damage a carpet. Place a guard around the fire, and add a rug to the fireplace to keep the carpet underneath protected. It’s far easier and cheaper to replace a rug that may suffer from damage than to get a new carpet.
There are lots of different styles and types of hearth rugs to choose from, so finding something you like should be easy.
6. Avoid sun damage
It might seem strange to concern yourself with sun damage to your carpet during the colder months of the year, but it’s still something that you need to think about. This is because the sun is much lower in the sky during winter, which means it can shine into your home and onto your carpet for longer, potentially causing carpet colours to fade. What can you do to prevent this? Consider adding blinds to windows so you can adjust them according to the light levels.
7. Prevent water damage
During winter, and icy weather, in particular, pipes have a habit of freezing over and may potentially burst when they start to thaw out. If frozen pipes burst over a carpet it will not only cause a lot of inconvenience, but it could ruin the carpet completely. You can prevent pipes from freezing over by maintaining a low constant heat, especially if you’re going away. Plus, get your boiler frequently serviced, and insulate any vulnerable pipes.
8. Schedule in regular cleaning
Because of the increased footfall in your home or business over winter and the festive period, as well as the higher risk of carpets becoming dirty, it makes sense to schedule in regular carpet cleaning from the professionals. This is especially important after any parties and events, to clear up any mess and spills, and after the festive decorations have been taken down and put away for another year.
Keep your carpets in good condition this winter and all year long, with assistance from the experts at Carpet Bright UK. Call now for a free quote.