Cleaning of carpets - please help!

[midivydale]

So ladies (and gents wouldnt want you to feel left out Otta:) ).

As you may know I am from Scandinavia where there is no carpet in sight so I need some help.

We have beige carpets throughout our flat - and we have a 13 month old...This combination is not great.

And no before you ask I can not put wooden floors down as that would be a breach of my lease.

When it was just my DH and I we had the occaisional carpet cleaner that came in. Along with some Varnish that did the job rather well but with a toddler, I need to up my game.

What do I do? Get one of those at home carpet cleaning systems? Are they any good?

Or do I just budget for a carpet cleaner on a regular basis?

Help ladies, all ideas welcome.

[Pickle]

Go for a professional clean once a year - that's what we do. Although I don't find that the kids make a mess of the carpets at all - they take shoes off, and generally food is eaten in the kitchen where we have tiles/wood. The last two times I've had carpet emergencies it has been my fault - I kicked a cup of coffee over last year, then last weekend managed to spill a full glass of red wine.

Tony from A&M Carpet Care is brilliant, and it's not too expensive.

[womanofdulwich]

Rugs are the answer. Patterned ones- that will take the vanish. There is one ikea rug which i buy bought for ?40 every 4 years- it took a lot of dirt.

Carpets are better thatn bare floor boards if they fall over.

Beige carpets are the best colour.

But- be very strict about where you allow food and pens.

( we have the same beige carpet after 12 years- have it cleaned every few years- but the rug in the middle takes a LOT of wear.)

[midivydale]

Pickle I was waiting for you:)

Thank you both, Tony and a rug- I can do this.

Any idea for wear on the stairs? I may have to change carpet on the stairs actually to something more hard wearing. We are 7 years in and the carpet on the stairs have seen better days. It looks worn.

[Pickle]

Yep, we have a big coloured (scrub resistant) rug in the middle of our sitting room floor, it's where baby P tends to sit and play with her toys. Colouring pens etc are a kitchen only toy, but the kids tend to gravitate to the kitchen table to do stuff like that anyway.

We have the same carpet on our stairs, and it doesn't look as fresh as the rest of it, mainly due to pesky cat who chooses the same route every time he goes up them, and hasn't learnt how to wipe his feet properly! You can get really nice patterned stairway runners (they always have nice ones in the window of the carpet shop on Lordship Lane), but not sure how expensive they are.

I made the mistake of using Vanish on a patch of carpet upstairs (another cat related incident!) and it's left a really noticeable patch of different coloured carpet, so be careful if you use products like that.

[womanofdulwich]

I second turtle mats they wash really well.

[hazelnunhead]

I can second tony as a carpet cleaner. He is very thorough and reasonably priced.

[deirdre]

Me too with Tony and A&M. Carpets (briefly) look like new when he's done..

[spanners45]

Hi Midivydale. Two kids + dog in our house so mess a-plenty. We haven't got rugs anywhere but messy activities are limited to kitchen where we have boards (crayons, glue, etc) and then we get Tony from A&M once every 4/5 months; he is great and always very professional. Very good rates.