How to Spot Clean Carpet With Foam Carpet Cleaner

Cleaning your carpet on a regular basis is usually recommended by the manufacturers. Between cleanings you can spot clean and help keep your carpet looking nice and clean. This article will tell you how to spot clean your carpet with foam cleaner in the high traffic areas or just in an area that you may not have noticed was actually dirty.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Carpet
• Foam carpet cleaner
• Dry cloth for blotting
• Scrub brush
• Wet cloth for rubbing

1. Gather all the materials needed. Before beginning, look over the carpet and determine where you need to spot clean. High traffic areas such as in front of a sofa, in a doorway, or around a coffee table if you have small children are usually the areas that need spot cleaning the most.

2. Vacuum the carpet as usual so all top soil is removed from the area. Spray the foam cleaner on a small area--a 2 foot square is usually the recommended size to clean at one time--and allow it to sit and dissipate for about 10 minutes. With the wet cloth, begin rubbing the foam into the carpet vigorously. This should pick up any soil still remaining on the carpet.

3. Blot the area with the dry cloth to pick up any remaining soil on the carpet. If the area still does not look clean, repeat the process again using the scrub brush to get the deep down soil in the carpet. Allow the carpet to dry before vacuuming again.

4. Move to the next area and repeat this process. When you are finished, allow all the carpet to dry thoroughly before vacuuming.

Tips & Warnings

• It is easier to get up a spot before it dries in if at all possible. When you first see the spot, or the spot first occurs, clean with foam cleaner in the manner outlined above for best results.
• Do not saturate the area with water or cleaner. This can cause mildew to set up under the carpet on the padding.
• Blot all areas dry and then allow carpet to air dry.
• Perform a colorfast test on the carpet in an area that is not seen before attempting to remove stains. A good place to perform this test is either in a closet or in a corner.