Our flooring can become stained for various reasons from general wear and tear to spillages. In an ideal situation, the stains will be cleaned the moment they occur. But when this isn’t possible it doesn’t mean the floor needs to remain stained forever.

Instead, with the right care and attention, you can bring your floor back to its former glory. To give you a helping hand, we’ve compiled the following tips for three of the most common flooring surfaces.

Carpets:

Carpet is the most common flooring type throughout homes across the UK. It’s also likely to become stained by various substances, from drinks and food through to mud, wax crayons and pet stains.

To remove such stains, despite common misconceptions you should never use soap and water. This is likely to stretch the fabrics within the carpet. Instead, you should use one of the three following methods:

Carpet Shampoo / Powder:

Whether opting for a shampoo or powder, each have their own advantages and disadvantages. For example carpet shampoo will take time to dry, resulting in the room being out of bounds, whereas powders are quicker to use. Once the carpet powder has been sprinkled on the floor, half-an-hour later, it can be vacuumed up along with any stains which may have occurred.

Steam Cleaners:

These are ideal for lifting out stains which have become imbedded into the fibres of the carpet. This will help bring your carpet back to its former glory, as explained within our previous post “How to Remove Coffee Stains….From Carpets”.

Carpet Cleaners:

Vacuuming on its own can leave behind dirt and dried in stains; which is where a carpet cleaner can come in handy. Such a cleaner removes the build up of dirt and allergens, whilst the wash mechanism capacity helps to lift out stains.

Laminate Floor:

If you’ve got a stubborn stain on your laminate floor, the best way to clean it is the following.

1) Squirt your cleaning solution onto the offending stain.

2) Leave it to soak for ten minutes.

3) Once the ten minutes have passed, take a cloth, press your fingertip into it and rub the stain. It’s recommended to rub the stain in a circular motion, before rubbing left to right and then diagonally.

Following such a method will lift the stain from the natural grain of the laminate flooring, leaving it looking like new.

Alternatively, cut out the hard work by using the Vax Laminate Floor Cleaning Solution alongside the Vax Floormate. The Floormate can be switched between dry vacuuming, washing and picking up liquid. As an added benefit the Floormate extracts excess water left on hard flooring, enabling them to dry quicker.

Wood Floor:

When it comes to cleaning your wood floor, the manner in which the stain is removed, will depend on the stain itself.

If the stain is due to alcohol, nail varnish or non-greasy food, it should be removed using warm water and an appropriate wood cleaner.

For stains caused by a greasy substance, the best way to remove them without causing lasting damage to the floor is to use a trusted cleaner containing ammonia.

Whatever flooring surfaces you have, through regular care and cleaning; as well as by following the tips above, you’ll be able to remove stains and keep the floors looking like new for longer.

For further DIY and home improvement advice, remember to visit the BuySpares blog and advice centre.

Tags: Cleaning Tips, floor cleaning, Stain Removal