We all love our pets. They are our best friends and our snuggle-buddies. They also love to leave tokens of affection for their humans. Sometimes that’s a toy or blanket, maybe it’s pet hair or muddy paw prints, and other times it may be a mess that’s a little more gross. Occasionally, every pet has an accident that their owner has to clean up. It’s just part of being a pet parent. Usually, we don’t mind, apart from the 3 am wake-up call, but it’s one reason why pet owners should clean carpets regularly to keep their homes clean.
With pets come extra responsibility and the extra dander, hair, dirt, and messes that love to live in carpet. At BISSELL Rental, we see pets as furry family members and we have all the solutions and tips to extending the life of your carpet with pets.
How often should you clean your carpets with pets in the home?
Pet owners should clean carpets by vacuuming one to two times a week to keep up on loose pet hair, dander, and tracked dirt. Pet owners seeking a deeper carpet clean should shampoo carpet three to four times per year. Cleaning when the seasons change is an easy way to remember when it’s time to deep clean your carpets! Of course, depending on how many pets you have and how long their hair is can change how often should you clean your carpet.
Why should pet owners clean their carpets?
There are several benefits of carpet cleaning for pet owners.
BISSELL® Big Green® carpet cleaning machine can help pet owners clean their carpets to remove embedded dirt, dander, pet hair, and other debris. Deep cleaning carpet also refreshes your carpet fibers by helping them stay looking nicer and feeling softer for longer.
How to clean carpet with pets in the home
Now that you know how often your carpets should be cleaned, here is a step-by-step guide to keeping your carpet in tip-top shape by vacuuming and deep carpet cleaning.
Vacuuming Carpet with Pets
First: Prepare your carpet to be vacuumed
Before getting out your vacuum, pick up objects that are on the floors around the room that may get in the way. Toys, pillows, pet beds, etc., all need to be picked up. Make sure blankets or sheets aren’t dragging down on the floor because they could get sucked into the vacuum brush roll. Move cords or curtains that may be in your vacuuming path.
Vacuum in horizontal and vertical motions
Because carpet is walked on and gets pushed down from all directions, it makes sense to vacuum from different directions too. To get the most dirt and debris out of your carpet, go over the carpet one way with your vacuum and then go back over it again in the opposite direction. You may not need to do this every single time you vacuum, but it’s a good tip for high traffic areas in your home, like hallways or the area right in front of your sofa.
How to shampoo carpet with BISSELL Big Green carpet cleaner rental
Prepare your carpet for a deep carpet cleaning
First, we recommend vacuuming your carpet before deep cleaning to remove any loose pet hair or debris, as well as putting pets away in a separate room. In addition to getting day-to-day objects out of the way, you may want to move furniture as well. It’s easiest to deep clean carpets when there is no furniture in the room, but even removing small tables and chairs that are hard to maneuver around will make an easier cleaning experience.
Pre-treat carpet stains
Now is also the time to pre-treat any old, set-in carpet stains. Grab one of our pre-treat sprays (
Oxy Deep Pro® for oxidizable stains like cola, red wine, chocolate, coffee;
Heavy Traffic® for greasy stains like oil, gravy or makeup; or
Pet Urine Stain & Odor for pet stains) and spray the dark areas in your carpet. The pre-treat spray will work on the stain while you are preparing the Big Green.
Deep clean your carpet
Now it’s time to deep carpet clean! Plug in the Big Green carpet cleaner rental machine and turn it on. Press the trigger on the handle and make one slow forward and backward pass. Then repeat, without the trigger pulled, to rinse the area. Repeat these steps until the solution being pulled up looks clean. Continue this process until the whole room has been cleaned. Pro tip: Start in a far corner so that when you are done, you are near the doorway and not trapped across the room!
Use Upholstery & Stair Cleaning tool attachments
Even though Big Green carpet cleaning rental is easy to use there are places that it can’t get to easily, but there’s no need for a special rental upholstery cleaner. That’s why we have an
Upholstery & Stair Cleaning tool attachment available to rent for just $5. The Upholstery & Stair Cleaning Tool features a 9’ hose and a 6” wide attachment head designed to help you remove stains, odors, and dirt from chairs, sofas, and stairs where pets love to nap and spend time.
For more information on how to use the BISSELL Big Green Carpet Cleaning Machine,
download the complete “how-to-use a BISSELL Big Green®” brochure. Looking to rent a carpet cleaner near you today?
Find a carpet cleaner rental location near you.
Keeping your carpet clean with pets
Clean and dry paws when pets come inside
To help keep your carpets from getting as dirty, it helps to clean paws when pets come in from outside. Keep an old towel by all the doors to your home and make sure that all family members know that they need to wipe paws before pets are let back into the whole house.
In the north, consider covering pets’ paws with paw wax or booties in the winter before they go outside. It will help with muddy paw prints on carpet but, more than that, it will protect paws from salt that is so often put down to melt ice on sidewalks and streets. Deicing salt can irritate paws and pets can then ingest the salt when they lick their feet after a walk. Then either take off the booties or wipe off the wax when you get home!
Use area rugs or runners to protect high traffic areas of carpet
Another tip to keep your carpet protected is to use area rugs or runners, especially in hallways and other high traffic areas. Area rugs can reduce wear and tear on those spots in your carpet that get the most use – like the hallway between the kitchen and bathroom or the carpet in front of the stairs or couch. Another good thing about area rugs is that they are easy to move to vacuum around and easy to clean more often.
Keep pet cleaning supplies handy for those unexpected accidents
It’s also a good thing to keep pet cleaning products in the house in case your pet has an accident. Our
Pet Urine Stain & Odor pre-treat spray can also be used to clean up pet messes in-between carpet cleaning to keep your carpet stain-free.
How often you clean the carpeting in your home will vary depending on many pets you have. We think having pets as part of your family is one of the best things in life. They are absolutely worth cleaning up those dust bunnies of pet hair that float around your home. After all, those are just gifts they are giving you, right?