Cleaning and Maintaining Your Floor

Looking after your carpet

We all want our new carpet to look good for as long as possible but the reality is dirt and grit are a fact of life and spills and accidents are inevitable. There are, however, some basic measures that can be taken to extend the life of a carpet and help it look good for longer.

For example:

• Use a doormat as that will significantly reduce the rate at which the carpet will soil. Use a remnant or off cut from your new carpet
• Vacuum your new carpet regularly. This will prevent dirt and grit from matting the fibres. An upright vacuum cleaner fitted with a beater bar and/or brushes is recommended for cut pile carpets. A vacuum only model is best for loop pile carpets to prevent pilling
• Always vacuum new carpet. When a carpet is first laid there may be some fluffing or shedding of loose fibres but this is perfectly normal
• Carpet care treatments, such as OxyKIC, should be Woolsafe approved as that means they have been scientifically tested and are safe and effective for cleaning wool rich carpets
• Ordinary detergents such as washing up liquid or soap should not be used on carpet

Looking after your vinyl flooring:

Use the mildest method you can to make the floor look clean again. Vacuum or sweep regularly to remove dirt before it gets ground in. Wipe up spills at once. When soil won't come up with vacuum, mop with damp mop squeezed out of cool to lukewarm water. Rub only enough to remove dirt on surface.

Wash only when dirt will not come off by milder methods listed above. Use solution of warm (not hot) water and detergent; apply small amount with mop or sponge, rubbing only enough to loosen dirt; take up with mop or sponge. Rinse off all solution thoroughly with clean, cool water; always rinse well no matter what the detergent or cleaner says about not rinsing. In cleaning, try to remove soil without destroying the wax film on the floor so rewaxing does not have to be done too often.