Winter Salt In Your Carpets

Anyone who has spent a winter in Michigan knows how great road salting can be, especially if it's been icy recently, which it has.

The downside is when it gets tracked in the home or business and stains the carpets. There are steps you can take to prevent this!

First, have plenty of entry matting. All the comments from our earlier blog on soil prevention apply here. Having sufficient outdoor and indoor entry mats is critical for catching as much of teh large particulate as possible BEFORE it hits your carpets.

Second, Vacuuming! Vacuum regularly, daily if needed, or even twice a day! What does hit the carpeting can and should be captured as soon as possible to prevent it from getting ground in. As above, our earlier blog comments on proper vacuuming apply 100%.

The first two steps here will do ALOT to reduce or prevent salt from getting in your carpeting, but if some still makes its way through your defenses, worry not! One step you can take i to keep a mixture of white vinegar and water on hand. Wet the areas stained with salt with your solution and soak it up with a terry cloth towel. Be sure to follow this up with a rinse of straight water to remove the vinegar from the carpeting, again blotting it dry with a towel.

Now, carpeting does dry from the bottom up, so you can leave a towel on top of the damp spot while it dries. Its ok to put a phone book or similar heavy object on top of the towel to keep it in place and aid absorbtion. Putting a floor fan over the area will also speed drying.

And of course, if the problems persist or you have a BIG problem on your hands, don't hesitate to call your local quality cleaning company. :)