Guide to Carpet Cleaning in Your New Home

If you’ve just moved into a home with carpets, then a thorough carpet cleaning is probably in order. Carpets trap all sorts of things that you don’t want in your new home, including dust mites, dirt, bacteria, and a whole host of other allergens. If you have allergies or respiratory problems, dirty carpets could pose a major problem to your health. And even if you don’t, a filthy carpet doesn’t exactly inspire you to settle in and get comfortable.

As a homeowner, you’ve got a couple of choices here, including professional carpet cleaning or going the DIY route. In both cases though, it’s a good idea to tackle carpet cleaning as early as possible—and even better to do it before you move in, since it’s a lot easier to clean carpets when you don’t have to worry about shuffling around boxes and furniture.

To help you plan next steps, we’ve put together this quick guide to carpet cleaning, including what you can expect from the pros and some tricks for getting your carpets clean on your own. Here’s what you need to know.

Why Carpet Cleaning is Necessary

So you’ve just moved into your new home and you’re excited about making it all your own. But before you can, you need to tackle the new home deep clean—and that should include a thorough cleaning of any installed carpets.

As mentioned already, carpets are prone to trapping a wide variety of potentially harmful allergens, as well as dust, dirt, bugs, and other things that you don’t want to be breathing in or walking around on. They can also hold on to stains and odors long after a previous owner has moved out, including pet urine and mold from water damage.

In addition to thoroughly removing these substances, carpet cleaning also benefits your new home in other ways, including:

• Improving air flow and quality
• Improving the overall look and feel of your space
• Getting rid of certain lingering odors

Carpets make up just over half of the U.S. flooring market, according to the Carpet and Rug Institute, which means that there’s a good chance at least some of the rooms in your new home are carpeted. And now that you know why it’s so important to clean them, here are your options for getting the job done.

What Do Professional Carpet Cleaners Do?

Getting a professional carpet cleaning is a popular choice among homeowners, and it’s a pretty affordable way to get your carpets looking as close to new as you can.

Pros have access to a lot of special tools that can get your carpets as clean as possible, including UV lights for identifying the source of odors. Most of what they do however is steam cleaning, a technique that uses hot water to extract dirt and stains from deep in a carpet’s fibers. While you can rent steam cleaning equipment at many home improvement stores, professional carpet cleaners have access to commercial steam cleaners that offer better results than doing it on your own.

In most cases, a professional carpet cleaning starts with a special chemical treatment to loosen stains and dirt. This is followed by a comprehensive steam cleaning and then a vacuuming to pick up any left behind debris. Once they’re finished, carpets are left alone to dry—a process that usually takes several hours.

Cost of Professional Carpet Cleaning

According to Angie’s List, the average cost of professional carpet cleaning is $51 per room, though many companies price out by square foot instead of by the room. Factors that may increase the cost include if you need specialty areas like stairs cleaned, as well as if you have any particularly tough stains or odors that need to be removed.

Quick Tips for DIY Carpet Cleaning

A professional carpet cleaning is the most efficient—and usually the most effective—way to deep clean the carpets in your new home. However, you have a couple of options for getting your carpets clean on your own.

Rent a steam cleaner

Give your carpets a thorough vacuuming

Make a DIY deodorizer

Since carpet cleaning is a lot of work, make sure to also follow best practices for maintaining the now-clean carpets in your new home. This includes having your family and all guests remove their shoes upon entering your house and wiping off your pet’s paws when they come in from outside. If it’s in your budget, plan to get a professional carpet cleaning once a year in addition to spot cleaning as needed. This will help prevent build-up and ensure your carpets are always at their best.