Keeping carpets clean with kids + dog - any advice?!

[spanners45]

Hi All,

I have a kid (+ one on the way) and a dog and I'm struggling to keep the carpets clean in the house. We have a regular Dyson hoover, but I wonder if anyone has recommendations for steam carpet hoovers. I'm no cleaning freak but I want to keep carpets clean so the kids can run around and I don't have to worry about the dog hair getting everywhere, or am I just kidding myself?

Thanks for any input.

[Ruth_Baldock]

My advice:

1) replace carpet with floorboards instead. Kidding.

2) actual advice: we use one of those "rug dr" carpet cleaning things every few weeks and also use shake 'b

n' vac or that new vanish carpet powder that you sprinkle on and then leave before hoovering up every day. Carpets will never be pristine again but it helps!

[cuppa tea]

My advice is Ruth's joke - I've just come out of rented accommodation which was carpeted. We previously had floor boards. OMG! Carpets with kids....never again! I seriously would look into replacing them with hard flooring or come to terms with a dirty carpet!

[Saffron]

How old are the carpets? If they're very new, you probably don't want to replace them? If they're not new, think about relaxing your standards for a few years, then repalcing them with new carpets when your little ones have grown up a bit.

In the meantime, you might also think about putting some area rugs over the carpets on the worst trafficked areas. You can clean or replace these easier than large rugs or wall-to-wall carpets.

We have 2 cats and a toddler. We use a Henry Hoover (actually, a Hetty Hoover, pink with eyelashes). It picks up cat hair really well. Having a weekly cleaner helps too!

Also we rented a steamer off a Forumite a few months ago when Mr Saff trod on two cartons of goats milk on the carpet. We steamed most of our carpets at the same time, but Mr Saff and I ran out of energy and left one little bit unsteamed. Now we can begin to see a difference in this area. So maybe it's worth renting a steamer a couple times a year for a deep clean?

Ruth, where did you find vanish carpet powder? My mother has been using this in the States for years, but I haven't seen it here. Maybe I haven't looked in the right place? It is excellent stuff.

[Ruth_Baldock]

Saffron; I got it in Waitrose in temple fortune, north London, of all places!!!

[spanners45]

Hi there,

Thanks all. Sadly, I cannot rip out the carpets (as I'd LOOOOOVE to do) as we are in a rented house. So, I'm stuck with constant hoovering and dirtier carptets than I'd like.

Ruth - I'll try your cleaning tips. Thanks for those. I might need to invest in a better hoover - one that is particularly good for dog hair?!

Saffron - a steam cleaner might not be a bad idea - could you pm details of the person you rented it from?

[Ruth_Baldock]

We've got a Henry Hoover which does quite well :)

[The Nappy Lady]

Miele do a Hoover specifically for pet hair etc it's good - not an upright a cylinder one.

Beware of shake & vac etc - some pets react to it & get bad skin problems (in a former life I had a boyfriend who was a vet & he saw a lot of it)!

Carpets & dogs & kids are a real nightmare, we have moved to wooden floors too but appreciate you just can't. 6 monthly steam cleans & regular hoovering the rest of the time is really all you can do.

[Meathgirl]

I'd recommend a Sebo Felix and a Polti Pro, depending on how often you plan to steam clean. You can use the steamer to clean kitchen and bathrooms and cut down on the use of chemical cleaners around the new baby.

http://www.sebo.co.uk/domestic-vacuum-cleaners/uprights/felix-pet/

http://www.poltiuk.co.uk/en/catalog/consumer/66/50003

[Pickle]

We had carpets laid in our house just over a year ago (replaced existing carpets which were pretty horrendous), and chose quite a light colour... which made a lot of people raise their eyebrows as we have two (soon to be 3) kids and a long haired cat.

It's been fine. We had a Dyson which was specifically for pet hair, and have now traded it for a Miele which is great. I've just had the carpets professionally cleaned after having been down a year - they weren't obviously in need of it, but we decided it was best to get it done annually to keep on top of it.

We are pretty strict about not wearing shoes on the carpets, and the kids are great (in fact, they're the ones who are strict about it, and are often heard to tell visitors to take their shoes off!).

Carpets/kids/pets are do-able!

[willerton]

Check out the Numatic range they have many many different Hoovers you probably wont get a steam cleaner for ?100 you are way out of the ball park there on price because all the machines not just Numatics Hoovers are over ?100 for a hoover of that specification but take a look at this website www.premier-storage.co.uk I got mine from here and never looked back after I bought my Numatic hoover and they have a wide range of Hoovers not just Numatic and when I got mien I'm sure I saw a henry hoover that was wet and dry.