A Comfortable Stay

Posted on: 21 December 2017

Winter weather can be hard on your home's carpeting. From snow and salt to heavy boots, there are a lot of things that can damage and wear your carpet fibers. With the winter season in full swing, it's time to be proactive about taking care of your carpets to minimize this damage. Here are some tips to help you protect your home's carpeting from significant wear during the snowy season.

Start By Being Proactive

The more steps you take to minimize exposure to the winter hazards, the less cleaning and care you'll have to do to protect the carpet. Even if the snow has already started to fall in your area, here are some things you can implement now to minimize your issues.

• Clean the carpets. Whether you rent a cleaner and do it yourself or you hire a local carpet cleaning company, have your entire home's carpeting deep cleaned. That way, anything that's already in the carpet fibers will be washed away and you can be confident that the carpets are not suffering deterioration from residual salt or other snow-related chemicals.

• Add a rubber mat by your door. Putting a rubber mat by your door, preferably one with raised sides, will give you somewhere for people to take their shoes off when they come in. That eliminates the exposure to your carpets because the snow and salt on the shoes will get trapped in the mat. Just make sure you clean the mat regularly so that it doesn't overflow with snow melt.

• Vacuum regularly. Make a point to vacuum your carpets at least once a week. Vacuum more often during those periods when you have a lot of visitors. Since winter is the holiday season, that's a common occurrence, and more visitors can lead to more dirt and debris in your carpet. Proactively vacuuming frequently will prevent dirt from building up in the carpet fibers, which can cause premature wear.

Treat Spot Problems Carefully

If you do end up with any snow, slush, or ice melt products on your carpet, you should treat the areas right away. Knowing how to take care of it properly is important so that you don't cause further damage to the carpets. 

• Address slushy spots quickly. Snowy slush can be saturated with dirt, salt, and a lot of other messy stuff. If you have any slush on your carpet, you should address it as quickly as possible. If there are still any frozen, icy chunks, remove them with a dry cloth. Then, create a mixture of gentle detergent with some hot water. Using a clean cloth, apply the solution to the carpet. Work from the outer edges of the slushy spot to the center so that you don't spread it. Then, use a spray bottle of cold water to rinse the area. Put a clean, dry towel on it to pat it dry. Once it's dry, you can vacuum the area if there's any dirt left on the surface.

• Remove salt completely. Since the salt products used to melt snow and ice can be hazardous to your carpet fibers, it's important that you remove any salt residue completely. Create a spray bottle solution that's made of equal parts warm water and white vinegar. The white vinegar is important to cut through the salt. Spray the solution on the spot and use a soft brush to work it into the carpet. Once you've done this, gently pat the whole area with a clean, dry towel to soak up the residue. Don't rub with the towel, though. Doing so with a dry towel will simply force any residual dirt and salt down into the carpet fibers. Use a wet vacuum to remove any residual solution from the carpet and then place a fan so that it blows directly on the area to dry it thoroughly.