How To Care For A New Carpet
Once you’ve invested in your brand-new carpet, you’ll want to do all you can to prolong its life. Natural floor coverings such as wool, coir, jute, sisal and seagrass provide the perfect base for creating the most beautiful and inviting home. Each of these natural and sustainable materials has its own unique properties, and need to be looked after differently to keep them looking perfect!
Read this guide for our top carpet maintenance tips for how you can care for a new carpet to help keep it looking as good as new! This guide will cover the following:
- How Often Should I Clean My New Carpet?
- How To Properly Hoover A New Carpet
- How To Brush A Carpet
- How To Care For Wool Carpet
- How To Care For Natural Plant Fibre Carpet
- The Best Cleaning Methods For Each Carpet Type
- What To Do After A New Carpet Is Installed
- How To Remove Fluff From A New Carpet
How Often Should I Clean My New Carpet?
Congratulations on your new carpet! With its rich texture and stylish design, you’ll be proud to show it off in any room. But how often should we clean our carpets? And what’s the best way of caring for them so they last as long as possible?
Here are some carpet maintenance tips to help you keep your new carpet looking its best:
– Hoover regularly: Depending on how much foot traffic your carpet gets, you should hoover it at least once a week. If you have pets or small children, you may need to hoover more often.
– Use a carpet cleaner: Once every few months, it’s a good idea to use a carpet cleaner, especially if you have pets or allergies. Look for a carpet cleaner that’s specifically designed for your carpet’s material.
– Take care of spills quickly: If you spill something on your carpet, don’t wait to clean it up. The sooner you treat the stain, the better chance you have of getting it out.
By following these simple carpet maintenance tips, you can keep your new carpet looking like new.
How To Properly Hoover A New Carpet
When hoovering a new carpet, it is important to be gentle in order to avoid damaging the fibres. Use a low setting on your hoover and make sure the brush attachment is set to “soft.” Be especially careful around the edges of the room where the carpet meets the baseboards. Take your time and don’t rush in order to avoid leaving any missed areas.
In general, it is best to hoover your new carpet on a weekly basis. However, you may need to hoover more often if you have pets or young children in the home. Be sure to remove any spots or stains as soon as possible in order to avoid permanent damage. With proper care, your new carpet will stay looking great for years to come.
How To Brush A Carpet
If your carpet is looking a little worse for wear, brushing it may be the answer. Brushing revitalises the pile and helps to remove dirt and stains. It’s relatively easy to do, but there are a few things to keep in mind to get the best results.
First, you’ll need to choose the right brush. A stiff-bristled brush is best for most carpets, but you may want a softer brush for delicate or plush carpets. Second, hoover the area you’ll be brushing before you start to help loosen any embedded dirt.
Once you’ve chosen your brush and hoovered the area, start in one corner and brush in small, circular motions. Work your way across the carpet until you’ve covered the entire surface. Finally, hoover the area again to pick up any loose dirt and debris.
With just a little effort, brushing your carpet can make a big difference in its appearance.
How To Care For Wool Carpet
Wool carpets are versatile as well as being stylish and sophisticated. Wool’s natural fibres make wool carpets fairly easy to clean and maintain, making them perfect for a household of busy people.
Like most carpets, in order to prolong the life of a wool fibres, it is important that you take good care of it. This includes regular hoovering, prompt action when spillages occur, and consideration of indents usually caused by furniture.
Here are some tips for easy and basic wool carpet maintenance and cleaning:
Hoovering: Use a hoover with a carpet cleaner for wool carpets, which are specifically designed for this material. This will help protect the fibres from any unnecessary damage. Lift the hoover regularly to check that the dirt chamber is not full. Hoover a wool carpet at least once a week. As a general rule it is advised to use an upright, brush assisted vacuum for cut pile and suction only vacuum cleaner on loop pile carpet and rugs.
Heavy Soiling: In cases where there may be a build up of mud or soil on the carpet, first allow the mud to dry. Once it’s been drying for a while, use a brush in order to brush away any soil and then hoover up all that dirt with a suction cleaner.
Spillages: Wool has a natural resistance to spills, due to its texture, which means spillages stay on top of the carpet rather than sink down into the fibres. If the spill is dry, you can try using a brush to lift it off the carpet. If the spill is wet, blot it with a clean, dry cloth.
Once you’ve hoovered or blotted up as much of the spillage as possible, you can use a mild detergent to spot clean the affected area. We recommend reacting immediately to spills so they don’t become permanent stains. This can be very important for a household that can be prone to pet accidents!
How To Care For Natural Plant Fibre Carpet
Natural plant fibre carpets are a perfect choice for a home carpet, this list includes coir, jute, seagrass and sisal. These carpets can last for a long time, if well maintained and looked after properly during the course of their life.
Natural plant fibre floor coverings are extremely absorbent and should only be used indoors and away from areas of excessive moisture, for example kitchens and bathrooms. As they are absorbent, we recommend that under no circumstances should they be wet shampooed or wet cleaned.
Because of the latex backing of our natural plant fibre carpets, which prevents dust and dirt build-up beneath the floor covering, these carpets offer fairly easy and basic maintenance and cleaning:
Hoovering: We recommend a suction cleaner without beater bars. This is because beater bars can potentially cause some damage to the surface of the carpet. We recommend that all natural floor coverings are to be hoovered once a week.
Heavy Soiling: In cases where there may be a heavy build up of mud on the carpet, allow the mud to dry. Once the mud is dry, use a stiff brush along the weave structure, brush the soil and then hoover with the suction cleaner. For areas where heavy soiling and mud build up may occur, for example by an entrance or exit, Jute carpets are not recommended.
Spillages: Reacting as soon as possible to stains, is the best way to avoid permanent stainage. In the case of severe spillages the Stain Removal & Cleaning Set, available from Crucial Trading, is highly recommended. The set comes complete with cleaning solutions, applicators and full instructions. We recommend purchasing the set at the same time as the floor covering so that you can react quickly and avoid permanent stains.
The Best Cleaning Methods For Each Carpet Type
Most natural carpets benefit from regular vacuuming. However, for natural fibre flooring, this should be done without a rotating roller brush, or beater bar, attached to the vacuum. Take a look at the best regular cleaning methods for each carpet type below.
| Carpet Type | Cleaning Method | Cleaning methods to avoid |
| Wool | Regular vacuuming | Bleach or alkaline products |
| Sisal | Water-based products do not scrub | Water-based products. Do not scrub |
| Seagrass | Regular vacuuming with a strong brush suction | Steam cleaning or any other water-based cleaning |
| Coir | Brush or vacuum weekly | Harsh chemicals, detergent and saturating with water |
| Jute | Vacuum with strong-suction vacuum | Water-based cleaning methods |
What To Do After A New Carpet Is Installed
You can walk on new carpet straight away if necessary but you should try to avoid heavy foot traffic in the area for at least 48 hours to avoid indentations. In addition, you may also want to ventilate the room for a few days following installation as some materials associated with carpet removal and installation can impact indoor air quality.
To maintain the appearance of your new carpet, you should brush or vacuum regularly, depending on the carpet type, and clean up any spillages immediately.
How To Remove Fluff From A New Carpet
New carpet shedding is completely normal, and not necessarily a fault of the manufacturer. So, you may find some carpet fluff and lose fibres within the first few weeks of installation. This can be easily resolved with regular vacuuming to lift the fluff and can minimise the amount of carpet fluff you’ll see on your carpet. Using a brush attachment on your vacuum can help to lift the fluff but you should only do this if it is suitable for your carpet type.
A natural fibre carpet is an investment that you won’t regret. But if you want your new high-quality natural carpet to last, it is important to take good care of it. Hoovering once a week and cleaning spillages as soon as they happen will make sure your carpet stays perfect for years to come.
