Don’t Forget the Doormat

16 Mar Don’t Forget the Doormat

Cleaning Your Dirty Doormat

You spend time cleaning your house, ridding it of dirt, germs and odors, but there’s one spot that you might be missing. If you have a doormat at your door, it’s one of the dirtiest spots in your home. In fact, according to Prevention magazine, your doormat is a hotbed of germs and disease-causing bacteria.

Worst of all, the dirt and bacteria can sweep easily into your home, usually on the soles of peoples’ feet as they walk in. Some studies have found that over 90 percent of shoe soles contain high levels of disease-carrying pathogens. Taking your shoes off as soon as you come home, and asking other people to do the same, cuts down on a lot of grime, but your dirty doormat is undoing all your best efforts.

Get it Clean

• Shake it. Take the mat to an outdoor area and shake off the grass and loose dirt.
• Vacuum it. Use a vacuum attachment to pick up any remaining dirt and debris.
• Powder it. Sprinkle baking soda over the doormat and use a brush or broom to scrub it into the fibers. This will help deodorize the mat as well.
• Rinse it. You can hose it down or hang it on a clothesline and let the rain wash it off.
• Sanitize it. Once a week, spray the mat with a disinfecting spray.
• Sweep up. Before you replace the mat, thoroughly sweep and clean the area it rests on.

Deep Cleaning

The above cleaning steps will help keep the doormat clean between deep cleanings, but to really get the germs out, you’ll need a deep cleaning. If it’s made of washable fibers, use hot water and detergent to wash it. You can fill a plastic tub with soapy water and submerge the mat, or use a scrubbing brush to work the soap into the mat. Hose it off and let it air-dry outdoors.

For an indoor mat made of carpet fiber, ask your carpet cleaning professional to add the mat to your routine cleaning.

Keep it Clean

When it comes to dirt, grass, and germs, let the dirty stuff stay outside where it belongs.

You spend time, money and energy keeping your rugs, carpet and upholstered furniture clean. As a Carpet Keepers customer, you can be confident that your rugs and furniture are free of allergenic, illness-causing bacteria and dust mites. You can relax, knowing that your home is deeply clean, fresh and healthy. Don’t undo that by letting dirt sneak back in through your doormats.

Stay Healthy

To keep your home as healthy as it can be, keep up your regular routine of deep-cleaning your area rugs, carpet, and furniture. To keep doormat-borne invaders away, follow the following tips.

Watch your bags. Be careful not to place shopping bags on your kitchen counters. They’re usually full of germs from the shopping cart, store, your car and the outdoors. Be equally careful of your handbag. Most handbags contain high numbers of germs and bacteria.

Clean your electronics. Your cell phone, tablet, e-reader and other portable electronics travel to all kinds of locations where they gather dirt. To keep that stuff off of your furniture, wipe them down with sanitizer every few days.

Leave shoes outside. Whenever possible, take your shoes off outside before you walk in. To really keep your house and floors clean, leave them outside or in the garage.

A Happy, Healthy Home

At Carpet Keepers, we know that your family deserves a bright, clean home that’s free of allergens and toxins. Keeping your rug-cleaning and furniture-cleaning routines, along with following these simple tips, will help you keep your house that way. To get started, call Carpet Keepers and get it all cleaned up.