When you move into your new apartment, the excitement of starting fresh can easily take over. The appliances are clean, there is no clutter, and the possibilities seem endless. You walk in the door when you first get your keys and you’re not-so-clean shoes touch your oh-so-clean carpet. You then realize that the feeling of your apartment being consistently clean seems like a goal that is untouchable.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a few tips out there to keep carpet in apartments in Northern California clean? 

You’re in luck. We have a few tips to help you as an apartment renter keep your carpet fresh, and also help you remove stains if a mishap occurs!

Keeping Your Carpet Clean  

Outdoor Mat

The biggest tip to keeping your carpet clean is to grab yourself an outdoor mat with bristles and place it right outside your front door. This way you can get the major debris or dirt off the bottom of your shoes before you ever step inside. Make it more interesting by changing your outdoor mat with the seasons!

Indoor Mat

The second step is to also place an indoor mat right at the opening of your front door. This allows the bottom of your shoes to go through a second cleaning before they touch the carpet.

Remove Shoes

While this rule sounds simple, enforcing isn’t always feasible. Whether your family and friends decide to ignore the rule, or you put your shoes on in the bedroom and totally space that you’re trying not to walk on the carpet with shoes on.

If this isn’t a rule you can easily enforce (i.e. you don’t live alone), then we suggest placing a shoe rack or a mat to collect shoes near the entry way. This allows you to keep your shoes by the door (no more walking from your bedroom with shoes on) and give guests a place to put their shoes when they come to visit!

Clean Once a Week

It makes sense that to keep your carpet clean you’d have to actually clean it regularly right? Vacuuming your carpet is the best way to clean it every week, but make sure you’re using your vacuum correctly! If you find there are certain areas in your apartment that are “problem spots” try using a super sticky lint roller! Problem spots are places that no matter how many times you vacuum over it there is still debris or hair left over.

Professional Carpet Cleaners

You’ve probably heard that homeowners are told they should get their carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year. Well not just homeowners should follow this rule! As an apartment renter it can sound strange that you should contact a professional carpet cleaner, but we promise that you’ll thank yourself when it comes time to move out. You’d be amazed how dirty your carpet can get in one year - just think about your carpet after 5 years of living there!

If you’re planning on living at your apartment for more than a year then schedule a cleaning every 6 months to a year. Your space will stay clean and when the time comes to move, your cleaning fee won’t include the extra effort cleaning years’ worth of dirt and grime living in your carpet.

Live in a Hignell Rentals apartment? We recommend using A+ Carpet Cleaning in Redding and Experts in Your Home in Chico!

Tips to Remove Carpet Stains

1. Clean up stain ASAP. The longer you let a stain sit the more time it has to chemically react with your carpet making it harder to remove.
2. Absorb stain first. You want to grab a clean, dry white cloth or paper towel (don’t use a color cloth on the chance that the stain pulls the color from the cloth into your carpet) and do your best to absorb all the excess first.
3. Blot – never rub. Rubbing the stain will only drive it further down into the carpet. Blotting helps to soak it up.
4. Move outside in. When blotting, start on the outside of the stain and then move inwards as this will help prevent the stain from spreading.
5. Always start with water. If you can get to the stain quick enough, using a towel with some water should do the trick.
6. For tougher stains, use vinegar or club soda. If you use vinegar, then make sure you use equal parts water.

Have an unusual stain? Click here to find the cleaning solution!  

There are many perks to living in apartments in Northern California, but when you move out, you're responsible to leave the apartment as clean as when you moved in. Yes, the apartment complex will charge a cleaning fee anyway to ensure that it’s clean for the next renter, but they can charge a higher fee if it’s extra dirty or requires extra work to get those carpets clean again.

Now is the time to start taking care of your carpets, not only to make moving out easier on your  bank account, but also so that you have nice, clean carpets all the time. Dingy carpets can change the look and smell of your apartment (and no one wants that!).

Take the time to clean your carpets every week, and to treat those stains right when they happen. For more cleaning tips for apartments download our Seasonal Deep Cleaning Checklist and discover where you should be consistently cleaning - not just right before you move out!