Keep it clean
When you are hoovering, check your carpets for any stains or marks that may have appeared. As soon as you do spot a stain, make sure to treat it as soon as possible. Ensure that you always have carpet cleaners to hand, and use the right formulation for your carpet, according to what material it is made of. Likewise when spillages happen, act fast to help prevent permanent staining to your carpet. Follow the specific instructions on your carpet cleaner so that you get the full effect.

Avoid marks
Heavy furniture such as sofas and tables can leave dents in your carpet that are hard to get rid of. Try to move furniture regularly, even if only by a few inches, to avoid damage to your carpet. Similarly, sunlight can bleach coloured carpets. As well as causing the colour to fade, UV rays can actually damage the carpet fibres. Minimise this by keeping windows or blinds closed during the sunniest parts of the day, or consider applying a protective window treatments such as ultraviolet blocking film to your windows.

Protect
If you are buying a new carpet, many companies now offer stain-resistant materials. Alternatively, carpets that are already in place can benefit from stain protection treatments. Consider using rugs to protect specific sections of your carpet such as high-traffic areas, or areas more at risk of spillages such as next to the sofa. Make sure the room is well ventilated to help prevent a build-up of moisture, as this can affect carpets. Keep your carpet fresh and free from bacteria by regularly using a carpet cleaner. If you do not have your own carpet cleaner you can easily rent one to use, or hire a professional. Consider it a worthwhile investment as it will prolong the life of your carpet.

You’ll almost certainly need to replace any water damaged carpet padding, but replacing the carpet itself – a much more expensive undertaking – can often be avoided when you know how.

Remove Water Quickly

A wet/dry vacuum can remove water extremely quickly and efficiently. They can be rented from water damage repair companies. Of course, you won’t be able to get one straight away. Until yours arrives, use towels to soak up water, squeeze that water into a bucket, then empty the bucket into the sink.

Utilise Fans to Speed Things Up

Fans can help facilitate the drying process, even after the water seems to have been removed. You can rent a high-power drying fan, but even standard ones can be useful. They will circulate fresh air throughout the room, making it harder for mould to develop, all while reducing the level of residual moisture.

Use a Dehumidifier

As well as a fan, homeowners can take advantage of a dehumidifier. While fans work well, a dehumidifier is often a better choice when water damage has been extreme. They work by removing moisture and making the air feel cooler. Mould won’t stand a chance.

Steam Clean Your Carpet

Once the room has been thoroughly dried out, you’ll still want to take a few steps to ensure that the carpets are completely safe. Most importantly, you should consider having them steam cleaned. You can either do this yourself or hire in a professional.

Water damaged carpets and floors can quickly become a fertile breeding ground for mould. This can trigger certain health problems by irritating the nose, eyes, throat, or lungs, and can also quickly destroy parts of your home. Follow the steps laid out in this guide to make sure that water damage doesn’t make your carpets a magnet for mould.

Shoes off
It seems like such an obvious answer, but make sure that outside remains outside by removing your shoes as soon as you enter the house. You should also provide mats outside of all entry-points to make sure that shoes are rubbed down prior to coming in – this will prevent insects from getting inside. Remind visitors to do that same – don’t be afraid to ask them! Just provide a rack so they know their shoes aren’t going to get trampled.

Keep it dry
Keeping your carpet free from contaminants is really only half the battle – it’s just as important to make sure that you don’t encourage the growth of bacteria by providing an ideal environment in which it can thrive. Any moisture provides an ideal setting for bacteria and mould to grow in, so keeping your carpet clean is crucial if you’re to properly protect your baby.
You’ll obviously need to make sure that all spills are cleaned up immediately – with as much wetness as possible drawn out of the carpet fibres. You can also open the windows after cleaning to ensure than minimal moisture is retained in the room itself.

Pay attention to pets
Pet owners are welcome to try to teach their cat or dog to rub their paws on the mat, but it’s probably not going to work. Cats like to come and go as they please, and dogs are exuberant when entering the house, so it can be tricky to keep them from tracking in contaminants.

The best thing to do is keep them within the entry-way or utility room before letting them back into the house itself. Use a cloth to gently wipe down their paws, then quickly check that there aren’t any insects on their coat.

Making sure your carpet is free of contaminants should be high on every parent’s list of priorities, and we hope these tips will make it easier.

Made from specially developed high-quality polypropylene fibre the bleach cleanable carpets are soft and comfortable to walk on but will repel any spills or stains. Instead the liquid literally sits on top of the fibres for easy cleaning.

If a strong coloured liquid or mud does get trodden into the carpet then you can use normal household bleach to remove it without damaging the carpet in any way.

Regency have also given a really helpful list of techniques to avoid stain problems. The important points to remember are:

• For a liquid spill – blot it as soon as you can with tissue or kitchen towel to soak up excess liquid. Don’t ever try and remove the stain by rubbing it at this point. Then dab at the area with a damp clean cloth and warm water until the stain has gone, but don’t over soak the stain. Then let it dry completely.
• If the stain is in a solid form then scrape away any excess bits and hoover them up gently.

If you do have a problem stain then you will need to try bleach or an everyday carpet cleaning product. (N.B. when using household bleach to clean your carpet you should use a mixture of 50% bleach and 50% tap water.) You can watch their video to see this process in action – red wine, coffee, bright orange baby food and mud are all tested on a light coloured bleach cleanable carpet and, after using a carpet cleaning product on the stains, all were completely removed!

So say goodbye to stains and take a look at the range of bleach cleanable carpets from Regency, or contact us for more information. You can read our blog on ‘Tips for carpet stain removal’ here.