Carpets are designed to hide dirt and resist stains and there is nothing nicer than the feeling of carpet underfoot. A carpet looks so elegant and beautiful when it is first laid and it is very frustrating to see it start to lose its luster and get stained in no time.

Most houses are very busy with a high amount of foot traffic, kids and in some cases pets. Spots and stains will start to show on the carpet and it is important to be able to remove theses marks before the carpet is permanently damaged. It will save you thousands of dollars from replacing your carpets sooner than necessary.

If you try to find information about "do it yourself carpet cleaning" all you find is information about how much damage you can do and how a pro will do a much better job. This may be true but if you hire a pro every time the carpet needs cleaning or when there are spills and stains then you can go broke.

This article is meant to provide tips on carpet cleaning when you do it yourself and to help relieve any fears. Carpet cleaning is not rocket science and even if a pro has more experience there are lots of people who clean carpets for a living that do a lousy job. If you take some care and use a little common sense you can get great results and it makes more sense than leaving the marks on your carpet too long and taking a chance that the damage is permanent.

Take the time to buy a decent steam cleaner or carpet shampooer rather than renting because it is much more convenient and cost effective. Before you start, remove as much furniture as possible from the area to be cleaned. If you have to put the furniture back before the carpet is completely dry then make sure you put something under the legs to guard against marking the carpet.

Vacuum the area thoroughly going slow enough to get out as much dirt as possible. The more dirt removed by vacuuming means you will get better cleaning results.
If you are using a steam cleaner make sure you don't leave too much water in the carpet. If you have to go over the carpet a couple of times the more water removed in this process will reduce drying times. If it takes too many hours to dry, your carpet can develop mold or mildew.

When using a shampoo process make sure that you remove as much residue as possible. If too much carpet cleaning residue is left in the carpet it can act like a dirt magnet and get your carpet dirty faster. One foolproof method is to use a carpet cleaner for either method that uses encapsulation technology. This means the dirt is removed from the carpet and any residue that is left behind will dry to a crystal and can be vacuumed out. Using this type of carpet cleaner will not get the carpet dirty faster and in most cases will leave your carpet cleaner.

After the cleaning process and the carpet is dry make sure you vacuum again. Replace the furniture and remember this is an excellent method to keep the carpets cleaner and you can still get a professional cleaning periodically.