Carpet Care for High-Traffic Areas: Strategies for Busy Homes

Every home has high-traffic areas – with hallways, entranceways, stairs, and living rooms among the top candidates. These areas experience a greater amount of foot traffic, collect more dirt, and often wear out more quickly. But if carpet is your floor covering of choice, there are ways to keep it looking its best. In this post, we’ll explore a few tips and tricks you can follow to help your carpets last longer in high-traffic areas.

Vacuuming regularly

Vacuums are the first line of defence when carpet cleaning. Regular vacuuming prevents dirt from getting trodden deep into your carpet. Make sure you don't neglect the edges of your carpet or areas under furniture, as dust can easily gather here.

Many people don't vacuum their carpets for long enough, which can lead to a build-up of dirt. It's recommended to spend 10-20 minutes vacuuming each room.

Clean stains ASAP

The areas that get the most use are the ones most likely to be stained. When possible, clean stains as soon as they happen, to prevent them soaking into the fibres of your carpet.

As this isn’t always an option, there are ways you can remove tougher stains. One method is combining baking soda, white vinegar and water. Sprinkle baking soda over the affected area to help loosen the stain. Then, mix equal parts water and white vinegar and spray it over the baking soda. Once the baking soda and white vinegar have finished reacting, blot them away with a wet cloth.

Tread carefully with footwear

Wearing shoes on your carpet can tread through soil and bacteria from outside. The hard soles of shoes can also drive this dirt in further and wear away your carpet.

However, walking barefoot on your carpet can also age it, due to the natural oils on your feet and shedding dead skin cells. The best footwear to maintain a carpet are socks or soft-soled indoor slippers.

Use rugs tactically

Placing rugs or mats in high-traffic areas can protect the carpet underneath. They can also be picked up and shaken out, allowing you to clean them more easily. This is especially important in doorways, as you can prevent dirt from ever reaching your carpet. You can even buy machine washable rugs, which are convenient for regular at-home cleaning.

Deep clean for the best results

As well as following all of the advice above, it’s important to have carpets deep cleaned on a regular basis. For most carpets, this is recommended at least once a year. However, you may want to book it in twice a year for high-traffic areas.

A professional carpet cleaner will have the knowledge and equipment to revitalise your carpets despite such heavy use. A professional deep clean will agitate the fibres without damaging your carpet to essentially bring it back to life – not to mention removing lingering smells and stains.

Hire a professional cleaner

High-traffic areas need more attention than others, but a professional cleaner can help you tackle this challenge. Find accredited carpet cleaners in the National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA) directory. Every NCCA member is insured and has passed training, preparing them for your carpet.

Search our directory to find professional carpet cleaners.