Do you have carpet anywhere in your home? If so, it can be a challenge to keep clean. We are the crazy people who opted for white carpet on our stairs. Ridiculous, I know, but so far so good. Choosing what to put on our stairs was actually quite a challenge and I explained how we came to that decision in this post. We are now two years in and going strong. However, it’s no accident that the white stairs still look . . . well, white. I’ve teamed up with eBay to share five ways to keep your carpet looking brand new.
ONE: NO SHOES UPSTAIRS
We have a very simple rule in the house. No shoes upstairs. To be honest, we don’t really wear our shoes in the house very much at all. Think about it. Those shoes are out and about all day playing in dirt, all over parking lots, in and out of who knows where. Anything those shoes touch, you potentially bring into the home. Would you place your shoes on top of your white sheets? Probably not. So when it comes to our carpet and the upstairs, we just don’t allow the shoes. That is a huge contributor to keeping our carpet clean. Most of our everyday shoes are in cubbies just outside our garage door so the get kicked off and stored there. Most of my shoes are up in my closet.
TWO: BOOTIES TO THE RESCUE
My husband actually came up with this trick after seeing workers in an out of our home when we first bought it. You know those blue booties? They are ideal to keep handy in case you have your shoes laced up and you’ve forgotten something upstairs. Or if a child runs in from playing outside and needs something from upstairs. No time to take shoes off, right?! Just slip on the booties and grab what you need. While it may sound silly, the booties have seriously saved our white stairs and the kids prefer that to having to take their shoes off for something they forgot. To keep it convenient, they are stored in the hall closet near the stairs. If you don’t have a nearby closet, a simple small basket with a lid could be nearby.
THREE: SPOT TREAT QUICKLY
Don’t let stains sit. It’s just the name of the game. All carpets are different and it’s important to speak with your installer about what is best to use, but we have had luck with two methods. Either club soda or just the suds from a warm water/dish soap combo. My mom taught me that. You use warm water and a splash of dish soap. Whisk until frothy and only apply the suds with a warm cloth. Always blot, never rub. Rubbing the carpet can make the stain worse and destroy the carpet fibers making it look older rather quickly.
FOUR: VACUUM REGULARLY
Now that we have the Dyson v7 we vacuum all the time. No joke. I wish we had bought this miracle vacuum when we moved in. It is mounted just outside our garage door so it is nice and close to the stairs. The key is vacuuming the wood floor by the stairs daily. It seriously takes 15 seconds but prevents everyone from tracking dirt up the stairs. vacuuming the stairs is now my daughter’s job. I can share more about their chore list soon. This vacuum is crazy light weight and does a phenomenal job. It’s odd to say, but using it is a joy. I found a factory refurbished one here. Excellent price.
FIVE: USE A CARPET CLEANER
We recently added the Bissel SpotClean Pro to our arsenal and love it. It was my husband’s idea and it was a good one. We wanted a spot cleaner that wasn’t too large to store and one that could be used on the stairs. This is so easy to use and works really well. You should see the dirty water after using it. Unreal. Using this regularly basis makes a huge difference. Plus we can spot treat when little things pop up here and there.
We love how compact this machine is. It’s easy to use and fits nicely on the stairs as you go. Over 80% of the products available on eBay are “Buy it Now” status. We are all about that. If you need a tips for shopping eBay, I always start with the landing page for current sales and then use the search bar at the top of the page (I choose the Buy it Now filter). This cleaner also received awesome reviews if you are looking for a larger one.
We love how compact this machine is. It’s easy to use and fits nicely on the stairs as you go. The carpet cleaner comes with two separate brushes so you can choose which one is best for you and your situation. Are you ready for this? A found a similar version completely refurbished for only $60. It gets great reviews. That’s an awesome deal.
Kudos to this guy for being such a good sport. I wasn’t feeling well and he stepped up to clean the carpet on camera. All about the teamwork! Now it’s time to train the kiddos in using this carpet cleaner so we can add it to their chore list.
More Cleaning Options
Hope these tips help keep your carpet looking a little bit cleaner. What are you up to today? Was so hoping to see my mom, but with this cold I’m still not up and around. Maybe tomorrow.
If you are interested in the other Five Ways posts, you can start by getting caught up with these:
Five Ways to Simplify Thanksgiving Dinner
Five Ways We Stay Connected
*Proud to partner with eBay on this post. All ideas and tips are my own.
We also have the Bissel SpotCleanPro and LOVE it. It’s actually our second, as we used it a lot and the hose cracked. We have a small dog with some stomach issues, and she chooses carpet over hardwood to get sick. :-/ So, it has been a life saver for our new carpet. It also works great on auto floor mats and stains on the actual carpet. Just clean the mats and leave them out in the warm air to dry. Trying to convince my husband to buy the stick vac, but he’s not a Dyson fan…maybe I’ll have to put that on my Christmas list. 🙂 Hope you’re feeling better soon!
So happy to hear that. We are loving it, too. Of course your sweet dog chooses the carpet :(. I never even thought about using it for the car mats. That’s a fantastic idea. Thank you. I’m telling you. . . the Dyson is the way to go. Hopefully Santa is a Dyson fan if we can’t convince your hubby. Thank you for the well wishes.
How often do you use the Bissel Spot Pro on the carpet for regular cleaning? Just curious as we have a similar situation with hardwood flooring downstairs and carpet on the stairs. I just bought the Dyson stick vac and you are right! It’s a game changer! Thanks for all your tips!
I’m so excited you like the Dyson, too. It seriously is a game changer. Feels so funny liking a vacuum so much, right? Just so easy to use. We bust out the Spot Pro if new spots pop up but other than that, we think every couple of months for cleaning the stairs. My children sit on the first step to put on their shoes so that tends to get dirtier so it’s the first few steps that need it the most.
I’m looking at a mostly white rug for my living room. I have a dog! I might be buying a whole lot of frustration but I’ve fallen in love.
I grew up with the “no shoes in the house” rule so it became our home rule too. Now, if I could only get my dog to wear shoes? Hmmm
Yes. We grew up with the no shoes policy, too. And now that I think about it . . my parents had white carpet our entire lives. I never even thought about that until now. Good luck with the white living room. I totally get it and back you up!
We have the Dyson and love!! We pretty much use it daily . Every time I use it I say to my hubby, “this is one of the best inventions”! We have a little bench and basket of slippers (variety of sizes) near our front door as we are a no shoes in the house family. I grew up that way and my husband grew up in Japan where they did not wear shoes in the house. I need to add some of those blue booties to our basket! Great tip! I will check out your Bissel SpotClean Pro! The one we have is too heavy and hard for me to use. Having pets and white carpet in our bedroom and hallway we do need to spot clean every so often. Cute photo of R happily cleaning the carpet! Hope you’re feeling better today Courtney.
Great post!! Thank you!!
Great article
Carpet looks so smart when it’s kept in good condition.
We have lovely plush beige carpets and after 4 years they are still like new.
We obviously don’t allow shows in the house. From childhood iv always removed shoots at the door. In four years shoes have never been on the carpet.
I agree that it’s imperative to have a good Hoover. We have a vax and a shark duo clean . It’s a real powerhouse.
Carpet isn’t hard to keep looking like new. You just have to respect your house and it’s fittings.
Hello! how often do you use the Bessel Spot Pro on the carpet for regular cleaning? Just curious as we have a similar situation with hardwood flooring downstairs and carpet on the stairs. I just bought the Dyson stick vac and you are right! It’s a game changer!
Great post, that vacuum looks amazing!
Just curious, which brand of booties do you recommend? The ones I have always used barely stay on & totally fall apart during the first use!
Thanks!