Anyone with a busy family home knows only too well the daily battle to keep it clean. With young kids or teenagers, dogs and cats, or a mixture of all, the problems remain the same. It can feel like you are fighting a losing battle picking up, putting away and wiping clean.
When it comes to flooring the challenges are just as real. Family members traipsing muddy wellies through after winter walks, spilt drinks at a party, pet accidents; the list of perils for your floor is endless. Laminate and vinyl are fairly straight forward to keep clean; a vacuum or sweep and the occasional mop and the job’s done. But what about carpet? Is it the impractical choice or is it just as easy to maintain?
Historically it’s true that carpets have not been known to cope well with stains. But advancements in production techniques over the years have meant that there is now a wide range available that handle it very well indeed. Although cord carpet is not suitable for homes with pets, it can easily stand up to the challenges of everyday family life. Whether it’s muddy shoes or sticky hands, this hard wearing carpet is made with tough components giving it some stain resistance. Similarly wool carpet is surprisingly easy to keep clean. This natural material looks and feels fabulous and resists most dirt making wool carpets great for homes with kids and animals, but not so good when dealing with extra stubborn stains.
However if you need a floor that can withstand a daily onslaught of wear and tear and the heavy traffic created by kids, dogs and cats, you can’t really go wrong with a polypropylene carpet. Made from synthetic fibres and incredibly durable, the only ranges that we would call bleach cleanable carpets are made 100% from polypropylene. That said, using neat bleach on any carpet is a definite no-no. Instead, when you have a really stubborn stain on your polypropylene carpet from an over excited pup, a felt tip pen or a particularly clumsy (or drunk!) grown up, use a bleach solution.
Now here’s the science bit. Firstly double check that your carpet is 100% polypropylene. Bleach will lift colour from wool, cord or any other carpet type so it’s really important to make sure your carpet is definitely made only from polypropylene if you don’t want patches.
Always wear rubber gloves when working with bleach and a mask to protect your respiratory system from the caustic fumes and, if possible, open a window. It may be an idea to test your solution on an area of carpet that is unseen, just in case. Ensure your solution of thin domestic bleach is properly mixed with tap water (around 70% water) in a spray bottle and evenly cover the stain. Allow the solution to sit for between 30 minutes to an hour and then rinse thoroughly with water. Use a brush if necessary to remove any stubborn dirt that may still be clinging on to the carpet’s fibres.
A bleach solution will successfully remove ink, red wine and ground in mud– in fact pretty much anything your family and friends want to throw at it, or drop on it! This makes polypropylene carpets the practical choice for hectic family homes. If you want the warmth and cosiness that carpet brings in your home, but you’ve always been worried about upkeep, it can be yours after all. Check out our range of polypropylene carpets here and bring some comfort into your life.