Keep It Pristine — Cleaning Tips For Your Educational Carpet
So, you’ve taken the plunge. You’ve purchased or ordered an educational area rug and you’re certain it’s going to be a brilliant addition to your classroom. The only issue you face is that, well, it’s a carpet for kids and that entails a certain degree of messy risk, doesn’t it? However, you can save yourself time and trouble further down the line by remembering a few important things about cleaning your educational carpet. Let’s start from the beginning.
Bleach Is Bad
This is the first thing to remember – bleach and other strong chemicals can cause severe harm to your carpet. The dye might run, for instance, and your learning blocks might start bleeding into one another. So, steering clear from any cleaning products that contain bleach is the first essential step to keeping your carpet in one piece. It’s not always obvious which cleaning products contain bleach and which are safe to use. If in doubt – stay away and choose another product.
Dry Cleaners Will Work Nicely
There’s a lot of misinformation out there, but, take it from us, “dry cleaners” sold over the counter are often the best way of cleaning your educational rug. The powdered form of the product means that they can be easily vacuumed away and you won’t be left with any unpleasant residue on the carpet. The last thing you want is a child coming in the next morning and trying to taste the cleaning product left on the carpet from the evening before. It’s important that you only use powders that are approved for cleaning, though. Anything else might have an adverse effect on the carpet and cause similar issues to the problems that bleach might inflict.
Always Spot Test
We can’t stress this enough – always test a spot in an innocuous section of the rug with your chosen cleaning product. We’ve heard enough horror tales of color running and rugs being ruined to last us a lifetime and we don’t want you to fall prey to this problem. Colorfastness can be ascertained after you’ve spot tested a corner of the rug with your chosen product. Be patient and careful, especially when you clean your educational rug for the first time. You’ll regret rushing if the color doesn’t hold in the rug.
Blot Away
It might be your instinct to scrub at the carpet to get any stain out, but try and restrain yourself. The best way to clean your educational area carpet is by blotting. Yes, it takes longer and you might think you’re not cleaning it effectively, but you need to trust the product to do its work and you have to give it enough time to work as well. Follow the instructions carefully, particularly on how long to leave the powder before blotting at the stain itself. If you start scrubbing at the rug with any force, you risk creating a fuzzy area on the carpet which could look and feel like a real blemish. As we said before, be patient and your reward will be a carpet that looks as good as it did the day you unwrapped it.
Final Tips
Your intentions might be good but, at some point, your educational carpet is going to require cleaning. There’s no reason why, with quality products and your gentle attention, that cleaning shouldn’t be a successful task. Remember, too, that some varieties of rugs are slightly different in material and manufacturing methods, so they need to be treated carefully in other ways.
Vacuuming over serge, for instance, is a sure-fire way to fray the yarn and ruin the appearance of the carpet.
If you treat your carpet well, it’ll reward you with lengthy service. You’d be surprised how many children can enjoy a quality rug before it ages a little too much. And, after that, you can ship it straight to our recycling center and start all over again!