One of the reasons that the popularity of carpets is waning is that they get stained and dirty. No matter how careful you are, over time, your once pristine carpets will start looking less than perfect. Even if they’re not showing dirt as much, it’s in there, and if you want your house to be really clean, you need to get it out! Here are some great tips to really clean carpets properly:

• Get a great vacuum cleaner. When it comes to vacuuming, you really do get what you pay for, and investing in an industrial type of cleaner that can handle wet and dry, and possibly even a HEPA vacuum is well worth it.
• Never rub stains. Rubbing on stains just spreads them around. Spray with cleaner, and then dab. The dapping action helps to lift the stain out of the carpet, rather than just spreading it around. Repeat until you get the result you want.
• Use vinegar and water, alternating with club soda, to remove wine and beer stains from carpet. Blot with paper towels between applications. When the stain is gone, spritz with water and blot again, and then leave several layers of paper towels on top of the wet areas, weighted down slightly, to soak up the rest of the moisture. If you use white paper towels, you can also tell if there are any remaining traces of a stain when you blot.
• Shaving foam is one of the best carpet cleaners out there, hands down. It will even allow you to take nail varnish off shag pile carpet. If you have stains that just won’t budge, then this should be the last thing you try before you resign yourself to carpet stains.
• Dish detergent is a great way to take grease stains out of carpets. It really does dissolve grease, just like they say in the ads, and not just on dishes either!
• Hydrogen peroxide (the solution version that you use to clean wounds) will take blood stains out of carpet, and freezing gum with ice blocks lets you scrape it off carpet.
• Treat pet stains as soon as they happen. The longer they have to soak in, the less likely you’ll ever get them out completely.
• If candle wax is the problem on your carpet, place a sheet of roller towel over the stain, and then use a steam iron to iron over the wax. It will melt onto the paper towel, and after a few applications of this process, you will never know it was there.
• Rent a carpet cleaner every three to six months. You cannot use these machines multiple times in the same day, but if you rent even a regular residential strength machine more frequently, you can keep carpets from trapping and retaining dirt, and prevent stains from being ingrained.

The tips on this list should help you to remove most normal stains from your carpets, but eventually, most carpets will be beyond rescuing. If yours are already there, then consider installing wood floors or laminate instead of new carpet. It’s longer lasting, easier to clean, and if you buy a few extra pieces, can be repaired if necessary.