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How to Make Old Carpet Look Better

How to Make Old Carpet Look Better

How to Make Old Carpet Look BetterNo one likes old, dirty-looking carpet. Unfortunately, many of us have to deal with the reality that we have some pretty worn-out and sorry-looking carpeting. What to do? Do you invest in paying for professional removal and reinstallment of brand new carpeting throughout the home? Do you try some low-cost DIY strategies to reinvigorate your aging carpet? Or do you try something in between, like hiring a carpet company to repair the carpet and clean it?

There are many ways to approach cleaning and repairing or restoring worn-out carpet. Here, we will discuss the many options to consider and offer some helpful advice for restoring old carpet. We also offer advice for making the best decision about if and when to replace carpet completely. Let’s now take a look at how to Make Old Carpet Look Better.

Saving Old Carpet

Ultimately, you will want to salvage carpet when you can and replace it when it cannot be restored within reason. therefore, the most prudent first step should be to give your carpeting a thorough cleaning. You can go about this in one of two primary ways.

First, you can do the thorough clean on your own with vacuuming, spot cleaning, and steam cleaning. This way, you may save some money by doing the work yourself. The Downside is that rented or purchased standalone steam cleaning machines are simply less effective than professional-grade truck mounted suction units such as those used by professional carpet cleaners.

Should I Steam Clean My Carpet Myself?

Unfortunately, rented steam cleaners are not powerful enough to fully suction all of the moisture out of carpeting when cleaning. As a result, your carpet can actually be left dirtier and can even be damaged when the moisture is not fully removed. This is because moisture left behind can leave the cleaning solution there too along with residual dirt mixed into the wetness.

This is a real problem because, while the carpet may look clean immediately after the steaming job, the cleaner left behind can damage the carpet leaving it discolored or even ‘bleached out’ looking. Plus, the dirty water itself will leave the base of the carpet dirty. This unclean mixture can even soak right back up to the top of the carpet fibers over the next few days through an action referred to as ‘wicking.’

Professional Carpet Cleaning

Conversely, you can simply pay a carpet cleaning company to do the service for you. Having your carpet professionally cleaned has several advantages. Namely, it’s much more convenient and significantly more effective than the rented steamer route.

Of course, it is somewhat more expensive than most rented steam machines. But it is well worth it as an investment to keep your carpet clean and healthy for the long haul. In addition, really worn out, old, or damaged carpet can be assessed and clean thoroughly and repaired by a carpet cleaning company. This is one great option to avoid the significant cost of total carpet replacement.

How to Clean and Restore Carpet Cheaply

Wondering How to Make Old Carpet Look Better with a DIY method? Here are some steps you can follow to accomplish that.

Clear and Vacuum

First, remove all furniture and objects from the room so that you have the full carpet exposed in order to clean and repair. Next, vacuum the carpet comprehensively going over each to each section many times upwards of seven or eight passes to really remove as much dirt, dust, and build-up as possible. And, don’t forget to go over the edges and corners with a vacuum extension to get those tough-to-reach places.

Spot Cleaning

Now it’s time to clean up spots stains. One option is to use a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water to soak up and clean stains such as those left by pets or food.

for grease and oil stains you want to take a different approach. Start by scraping away any hardened grease with a dull plastic object or utensil and then finish by blotting up the grease with a paper or cloth towel. Then, you can use baby powder or cornstarch over the stained area to soak up any remaining substance. Leave on the spot for about four hours then vacuum it up. Finally, you can clean whatever stain remains with a vinegar and hot water solution.

DIY Carpet Repair

If you have damaged areas of the carpet such as burns or divots there are some creative solutions you can use to make repairs. For example, you can cut away areas of the carpet that have the hole or burn and fill in the area with an undamaged piece of carpet if you have extra on-hand. You can simply glue the replacement carpet fibers into the area. Keep in mind, this solution is not going to look the most professional–But, it’s a cheap way to do what you can to improve the look of your carpet.

Steam Cleaning

Now we come to using your own steam cleaner machine. If you don’t actually own one you can rent one from a home improvement store. The most important thing is to do your best to follow the manufacturer’s instructions closely and try to make sure to remove as much moisture as possible. To do this you can open up many different windows and doors throughout your house on a nice warm day, for example. You can set up and turn on fans in recently steamed areas.

You want to do all that you can to dry the carpet out while steaming because this is an inherent flaw in non-truck mounted steam cleaning systems. They are simply not adequately powerful so you are likely to run into issues of leaving cleaning solution behind and dirty water. Nonetheless, do the best you can and the process should leave you with cleaner carpet than before. Though again, professional deep-clean is the safest and most effective option.

Cut Odors Down Yourself

Now, the final DIY solution can be implemented to cut down or eliminate odors from your carpet. You can do this by sprinkling light amounts of baking soda over dry carpet overnight. Then, the next day you can vacuum up all of the baking soda. This method works because the baking soda can absorb the bacteria responsible for the odors.

Understanding How to Make Old Carpet Look Better

So there you have it! Some practical ways to clean your carpet on a very low budget. If you weigh out the costs and benefits and decide you’d rather invest in a professional deep-clean or carpet repair service, then we encourage you to go with the best quality cleaners in the business.

Of course, we are talking about Allklean with locations in Idaho and Washington. With a perfect five-star rating on Google and unmatched customer care, Allklean is your go-to source for carpet maintenance. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online today for your professional carpet cleaning and repair tomorrow!

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