Care for your Carpet

It wasn’t all that long ago that carpets and rugs weren’t just trampled over, but beaten as well… not a great life, you’d think. Housewives frustrations were taken out on carpets as they beat the dust and muck out of the carpets once a month or so. Carpets were the domains of carpet brushes – vacuum cleaners were nothing but a dream for many!

Even now, you’ll be astonished how much your vacuum leaves behind. Humour me … if you have the time.

Give your carpet or rug a good vacuum as normal, then take it out to the garden. Spread it out on the floor and smother it with salt – don’t be shy, use as much as you want to draw out the impurities. In circular sweeps, use a natural soft-bristle brush to carefully rub the salt in.

In many European apartment communities you’ll see carpet beating frames in the gardens in relatively newly built areas. There are obviously still a fair few who don’t consider carpet beating to part of the days done by. As most of us don’t have beating frames in the garden, a good piece of rope tied across the garden is a valiant replacement. Let the carpet/rug hang for two hours as you prepare for the next stage … which is quite a lot of fun.

If, by some miracle, you still have that beater that someone once gave you, buried in the back of your cleaning cupboard or shed, go and dig it out; if not, use a sturdy stick or old tennis racket instead.

Armed with a carpet beater, a tennis racket or a stick, and a world full of frustrations go to town on your carpet. Don’t aim at the same spot, mix it up, so that you get rid of the salt, dust and particles from all over the carpet.

When you’re beating the rug or carpet, you’ll notice that the dust stays behind, while the carpet flies forward.

Go to town on one side of the carpet then remember to have a guzzle of water before heading round to the other side and beating it from the other side too. Repeat! Now, flip the outside of the carpet so it’s facing inwards, to also give you a go at the back of the carpet.

With your carpet beaten, a pile of dust and salt on the ground, roll it up and carry it back to it’s home. Lay it on the floor and give it another vacuum. Not only will your carpet look refreshed, but you’ll probably feel somewhat better too. As your beater is to hand, go get another rug and keep going!?