Carpet Care
Vacuum first, spot-treat, then steam. The order avoids pushing stains deeper — and is the order most crews skip.
Tools + products to bring
- HEPA-bag vacuum (commercial-grade preferred)
- Carpet spot remover (oxidizing for organic, solvent for oil-based)
- Steam cleaner with hot-water extraction
- White microfiber cloths
- Spray bottle
- Furniture sliders (to move chairs/sofas without strain)
- Fan (to dry faster — reduce guest-slip risk)
Execution
7 steps in order
- 01
Pre-vacuum — thoroughly, before any spot treatment
Slow passes, both directions across high-traffic lanes. A pre-vacuum lifts 80% of the soil load; skipping it means the steam cleaner carries surface dirt DOWN into the carpet pile. Empty or swap the vacuum bag BEFORE this pass if it has any debris from a previous room — old debris redeposits.
- 02
Walk every carpet and identify spots BEFORE you decide the treatment
Organic (food, drink, blood, vomit): oxidizing spot remover, dwell, blot. Oil-based (grease, lipstick, shoe polish): solvent spot remover, dab, blot. Pet (urine): enzyme cleaner, dwell 15 min, blot. Wrong-product choice sets the stain. If unsure, dab a small hidden spot with warm water — if it lifts, treat with plain water and blot.
- 03
Spot-treat in dwell-then-blot order. NEVER rub.
Apply spotter to a white cloth and press into the spot. Let it dwell (label time). Blot outward from the spot — never inward, never in a circular rub. Rubbing frays carpet fibers and spreads the stain. Repeat 2–3 times with a fresh cloth section each pass.
- 04
Steam clean on hot-water-extract, slow parallel passes
Use the manufacturer's recommended water-to-solution ratio. Slow push-pull passes, every pass overlapping the previous by 1/4. Standing still or moving too fast leaves streaks. Two wet passes per lane — once forward to inject, once back to extract. Mop any standing water trails immediately.
- 05
Treat edges, transitions, and under-furniture areas separately
Edges and transitions collect more soil than the center of a room. Run an extra slow pass along all four edges of every carpet. Slide furniture and treat under it; the next guest will look there before they take a single step.
- 06
Speed up the dry — guests should never walk on wet carpet
Open windows, run fans, turn on the HVAC fan. Target: fully dry in 2 hours or less for a turnover. If a carpet will still be damp at guest check-in, set the thermostat fan to ON (not AUTO), text the host, and place a wet-floor sign at each door.
- 07
Inspect under bright light, at a low angle
Kneel at one end of the room with a flashlight parallel to the carpet. Low-angle light reveals streaks, missed spots, and uneven drying that overhead light hides. Re-spot anything visible. The right test is "I would walk on this barefoot."
Accept means…
- Pre-vacuum complete on every carpet lane (both directions).
- Every identified spot treated with the right chemistry (organic, oil, enzyme) and blotted — never rubbed.
- Steam clean: every lane covered twice (inject + extract), with 1/4 overlap.
- Edges and under-furniture areas treated separately.
- Dry time ≤ 2 hours; no standing water on guest arrival.
- Low-angle flashlight inspection passed on every carpeted room.
When something looks off