Winter means snow, and snow means hidden threats to your carpet in the form of road salt, dirt, and rocks that get stuck in the snow and then tracked into your house.
Look down and you’ll see one of the biggest threats to your carpet. That’s right – your feet! Well, your shoes, more specifically.
While the dangers are many, there are things you can do to protect your carpets this winter. One of the best ways is to get an Intek carpet cleaning scheduled. We use cleaning agents that are safe for your kids and your pets.
Until we arrive, here are five ways you can protect your carpets this winter from the dangers your shoes bring in with them.
1. Vacuum regularly.
You may not realize how much dirt, salt, and rocks you track inside on the bottoms of your shoes. Those rocks can be hard on the fibers of your carpet. The sooner you can get those little carpet irritants out of your carpet, the healthier your flooring is.
It’s a good idea to plan to set aside some time to vacuum all of your carpeting on a monthly basis (weekly in high traffic areas). Make sure to invest in a vacuum that can handle your carpet. You’ll thank yourself later – especially if you have really high pile carpet.
2. Invest in a good rug for your doorway.
You’ll need two rugs, actually. A sturdy, bristly type of one for the outside portion of your doorway (make sure people are in the habit of wiping their feet on it!), and a softer, but still sturdy one, for just inside the door.
Rugs protect your carpet from taking the brunt of foot traffic in the wintertime. They’ll absorb most of the snow as it melts and will prevent that tricky road salt and rocks from getting stuck in the carpet right next to your door. It also has an added benefit of making your entryway look a little homier!
Be sure to keep your rugs clean too! You can vacuum them when you vacuum the rest of your floors, and you can even wash them on a monthly basis too. Be sure to check the care instructions on the tag of your rug before doing so, however, because some rugs require dry cleaning.
3. Have a designated spot to put your shoes.
It’s always easier to protect your carpets in the winter if you can limit the square footage that’s getting damaged. One of the best ways to do that is to have a designated area for your family and friends to place their shoes when they come inside.
Ideally, that spot is protected with a shoe tray or a very thick rug that can take the beating when the snow melts off of those shoes. Keep that shoe spot close to the door so that nobody has to walk very far into your house before they remove their shoes and put them in the designated area.
4. Don’t let people walk inside with their shoes on.
This is one of the best ways to protect your carpets from the dangers of shoes during the winter: declare a rule that nobody may walk past the designated shoe area with their shoes on. Put your foot down and establish that only socks may be permitted past the entry area rug. That prevents some tracking of snow, salt, and rocks into your home, and it keeps your carpets looking clean.
This may be difficult to enforce at first, but be firm. The lifetime of your carpets depends on it!
5. Call Intek.
If you’ve done your best and the carpets still look a little tired, or even if you would just rather trust us with the care of your carpets, give us a call! It’s easy to get ready for us to clean your home, and you can trust us to do the best job in town, because we’ve been voted the Local Best in carpet cleaning a number of times.
Keep in mind, around the holidays we may be booked up to 3 weeks in advance, so if you’re thinking you would like your carpets fresh and clean before the in-laws come over, book your cleaning now!
