From wine and chips to mud and dust, our carpet can pick up a lot of dirt and grime over the years.  Though there are tons of DIY remedies, not every quick fix or solution is going to work for your carpet.

To help you avoid ruining your floors, we’ve gathered a list of the 8 worst carpet cleaning mistakes.  We’ll also be providing you with some useful alternatives and reliable resources to keep your carpets clean.

DIY Dont’s

Scrubbing Carpet Stains

While it may seem smart to scrub the life out of a stain you must resist this urge with all your might.  Scrubbing stains does nothing to remove them and aside from damaging your carpet fibers, scrubbing like a madman will also push a stain deeper into your carpet.

Remember, when it comes to carpets-blot, don’t scrub.

Letting Stains Sit

If you’ve had a long and tiring day at work, it’s easy to shrug your shoulder at the wine splotch that landed on your carpet after an accidental spill.  But, we’re here to tell you that’s one surefire way to permanently dye your carpet.

By letting a stain sit on your carpet, you’re allowing the stain to really seep into your carpet fibers.  Instead, we’d recommend grabbing a washcloth and blotting away as much of the stain as possible.

Choosing The Wrong Product

Some cleaning products contain chemicals that can permanently bleach or damage your carpet’s fibers.  To avoid such a mishap, it’s important to double-check your product’s label to see if it is safe to use on your specific carpet material.

One easy way to avoid this problem is to use an eco-friendly, natural product that doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals.  Granted it may not be as effective for particularly tough stains, but you can rest easy knowing your brown carpets won’t be bleached white after cleaning.

Not Using Deodorizing Powders Correctly

While they are great for making your carpet smell fresh, using deodorizing powder and not vacuuming it afterward can introduce tons of gunk to your carpet.  This can cause dirt to stick to your carpet which in turn, can make it much harder to clean.

Not Having Your Carpet Professionally Cleaned

As skilled as you may be at DIY carpet cleaning, nothing really compares to a professional carpet cleaning job.  Though it isn’t necessary to have a professional come by every day, a thorough cleaning now and then will help extend the life of your carpet.

Renting Unreliable Cleaning Equipment

Ever since Rug Doctors became popular, there have been tons of imitation products trying to cash in on the professional self-cleaning craze.  To avoid renting a useless piece of equipment, you should check to make sure that it meets international carpet cleaning standards.

That wraps up our list of DIY dont’s for carpet cleaning.  If you ever need to clean your carpet, we’d recommend keeping this guide handy so you have a useful refresher on what not to do about carpet stains.