Owning a home requires a lot of home maintenance. Additionally, keeping your home clean can be a challenge. If you have kids or pets or both, then simple chores like cleaning your floors can become a nightmare. Also, having a second-story home can make these chores even more daunting. Second-story homes mean that you have stairs. Some homes have carpet on their stairs. The foot-traffic and dirt dropoff on these stairs can become an annoyance. Wondering how to clean the carpet on the stairs? The best way to keep your stair carpet clean is by using a vacuum and carpet cleaner.
Let’s take a look below at some more details regarding how to clean the carpet on the stairs.
What Are The Steps For Cleaning Carpet On Stairs?
Completing a project like this has two options. You can either vacuum the carpet and hope that it does a thorough job, or you can shampoo it with a carpet cleaner. Let’s take a look below at both options.
- Vacuum Cleaner – Using a vacuum cleaner allows you to suck up dirt, debris, and pet hairs that are known to cause allergies. Additionally, a vacuum is great at controlling mold, mildew, and bacteria growth. Vacuuming might need to occur a couple of days a week to keep things under control.
- Carpet cleaning machine – Using a carpet steam cleaner machine allows you to use soap and steam to get a deeper clean of the dirt and debris that is nestled in the deep crevices of the carpet fabric.
What Are The Pros and Cons Of Using a Vacuum?
Believe it or not, there are way more pros for using a vacuum cleaner than there are cons. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using a vacuum.
- Using a vacuum allows you to suck up animal hair or fur from your pets in a quick manner.
- Using a vacuum keeps the carpet on your stairs free from dust, dirt, and debris.
- Using a vacuum can be quick and easy. Although you will need to push or lift the vacuum, it does a great job doing most of the work.
How Do I Use A Carpet Cleaning Machine?
If you choose to go the route of a carpet cleaning machine, here are the instructions for how to clean the carpet on your stairs.
- Prep the area – Make sure to remove any furniture or toys from the stairs. This includes anything attached to your banisters or railing that could get in the way.
- Vacuum the area – Do a quick vacuuming to get all loose dirt and hair or debris off the carpet.
- Prep the cleaning machine – Add the recommended carpet cleaning solution and a gallon of hot water.
- Go to work – Start using the machine at the bottom of the stairs carpet. Be sure to let the machine work as long as needed on any stains that have built up.
- Squeeze the trigger – Pull the machine back and forth while you squeeze the trigger to suck up excess water from the carpet.
- Release the trigger – Repeat these steps to ensure all excess water is removed.
- Move the cleaning brush – Use a circular motion as you move the cleaning brush around. This will clean the carpet and help remove the excess water.
- Let it dry – After you have finished with all of the steps, keep the foot traffic off the steps for at least three or more hours. Check the carpet for dampness before using the stairs.
Keep in mind that cleaning your stairs with a lightweight vacuum or carpet shampoo can work in high-traffic areas. The carpet fibers get a deeper clean and stay cleaner for a long time. Be sure to read up on the cleaning processes and drying processes to ensure that you are following the guidelines.
Other Recommended Maintenance
Now that you are aware of how to clean the carpet on your stairs, you can read up on some other ways to clean your various carpets or flooring in your home. Keeping the carpet in your home clean can prevent mold growth. It is important to know how fast mold can grow in your home. Understanding this can determine how often you should be cleaning your carpets.
Next, be sure to read up on how long it takes the carpet to dry. Although you might be cleaning a small area, it could still take some time for your stair carpet to dry. Knowing how long it typically takes allows you to determine when in the day you should tackle this project.
Lastly, just because you clean the carpet does not necessarily mean all is perfect. You could end up with a carpet that takes too long to dry and this creates a musty smell in your carpet. This would be a great time to read up on how to get smells out of your carpet.
When Do I Call A Professional?
Getting your carpets cleaned is not the most exciting part of owning a home. Luckily, if you do not have the time or energy, you can hire a carpet cleaning service company to get the job done. Additionally, it is a good idea to call your local home inspection team. They can inspect the stair carpet and recommend a possible replacement. Also, they can recommend a reputable carpet cleaning service company.
Conclusion
If you started this project and cannot seem to dry the carpet or get all of the dirt up, reach out to your local home inspection team. They can recommend a reputable service to assist with the project. Also, they can inspect the stairs and carpet area for mold growth, mildew growth, or other damage. Call Waypoint Property Inspection to inspect your home in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Orlando, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and surrounding areas.
