Maintaining your carpets.... Doesn't sound very possible, but is it? We have all been over to a friend's home and looked at their carpet? Some may say "yes" it looks like a horrible episode of C.S.I., at the actual crime scene. Everyone have definitely all seen the really dirty ones, probably not quite that bad, but we have seen them at one time or another. You may wonder how many of your "other" friends keep their carpet so clean that it looks like they have just had it installed. The answer is preventative maintenance! I'm sure that those friends have a few rules about walking on their carpet. Go walk on it I wouldn't recommend walking on it with a little mud on your shoes, because you will probably be looking down the barrel of a fully loaded twelve-gauge shotgun with the safety off. Well I hope they're not that bad, but I am sure that you will hear a warm but stern "will you please take off your shoes".
Some preventative maintenance tips that I would implement if I were trying to keep my carpet clean would be first to not allow shoes on the carpet. Also, have a no food rule in any carpeted room that you can help (if you have a carpeted dining room I wouldn't suggest eating on the kitchen floor). Respond to spills/stains immediately the longer you wait the better chance the stain has to set. Vacuum regularly- twice a week would be beneficial, but it should be vacuumed at least once a week. Try to have your carpet steam cleaned every 4-6 months.
When cleaning spills up, don't use the abrasive action of back and forth. This will only start to fray your carpet, and I promise you that you will be able to tell if you look. Then that frayed spot will nag you to insanity until you have that room re-carpeted. In small cases I use a towel that is wet on both ends but dry in the middle. One end has a little dish soap, and the other end is good and saturated with plain water. Use the middle and press on the stain soaking up as much as you can. Then use the soapy side and blot in the soap. Finally, end with a soft rinse with the other side. Good luck!
Tips:
Try runners in some heavy traffic areas to cut down on the soiling.
Have your carpet cleaned by a professional! The cheaper store rentals don't extract all the soap and if you ever do decide to get it done professionally it will look like a giant bubble. In addition the rentals don't do nearly as good of a job compared to a good professional.
You may want to check into those robotic vacuums. I have seen them used and they don't do that great of a job, but it's better than having your carpets vacuumed once a month or worse.
If you ever try any kind of spot remover make sure to pre-test in an unnoticeable location. Nothing like a nice bleach spot right in the middle of you living room.
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