There can be nothing better than ripping up an old carpet and laying a brand new one. The new smell, the new look… it all adds up to a lovely addition to any room.

Of course you’ll want to make sure you can keep your new carpet looking good and smelling good for a long time to come. To this end it makes sense to know how to take care of it. Before you choose your carpet it is worth making sure you have one with a stain guard built-in. However careful you are you’re bound to spill something on the carpet eventually. If it happens it’s good to know you can get it out quickly and easily (and hopefully as little of it as possible will go down into the carpet fibres themselves). If anything does get spilt on it make sure you blot the stain out with a clean damp cloth. Rubbing it will only send the offending stain deeper into the carpet pile, so avoid this at all costs.

Vacuuming should obviously be a key part of your routine to keep your carpet looking like new. Weekly vacuuming should suffice in most rooms of your home, but it is worth doing it more often in areas that see a lot more action. For example if you have carpet in your hallway, make sure you vacuum that at least three times a week (daily, ideally).

You can limit the amount of ground-in dirt that goes into the fibres of your carpet by providing doormats and rugs in the right areas too. For example, a doormat in front of your front and back door will be a reminder to wipe your feet when you enter, as well as removing most of the dirt from your shoes. It doesn’t have to be wet out for your footwear to get dirty, remember. These are the kinds of areas that need regular attention too. Shake out your mats a couple of times a week to ensure they’re not affected by a build-up of dirt that will then get trodden into your carpet.

If all this sounds like a lot of hard work, don’t worry. You can hire a regular cleaner or housekeeper to come in and handle the cleaning for you if you don’t have the time. This ensures your carpets will stay looking good at all times.