How to keep your carpets clean and cozy

Soft, carpeted floors make rooms warm, comfortable and quiet. But they need some care and attention from you in return. Here's what you can do to keep your carpets clean and cozy.

• Simply rubbing a lightly burned or scorched in mark on your carpet with plain steel wool can sometimes remove the mark.
• The light buffing with the steel wool should lift away any of the scorched fibres.

• Many supermarkets and home improvement centres rent out equipment for cleaning carpets.
• These are efficient and easy to use.
• Book the carpet cleaner in advance.
• Most companies rent the machines by the day, so if you collect the cleaner first thing in the morning, you can clean all your carpets for the price of a day's rent.
• Read the instructions that come with the equipment carefully.
• Before filling the unit make sure the switches are off and the hoses on the back are connected.

• Keep your carpet static-free with a mixture of one part fabric softener and five parts water.
• Lightly spray the solution on your carpet and let it dry undisturbed overnight.
• The static nullifying effect should last for several weeks.

• When you move heavy furniture, the depressions left behind can spoil the look of a carpet.
• To lift these depressions, lay a wet, wrung-out towel over the "dent" and press it with a hot iron for about a minute.
• The steam will release the crushed fibres and make them pliable again.
• Remove the iron, lift the towel and hand fluff the area to remove the depression.

• Once carpet becomes wet, you must dry the carpet and replace the soggy carpet underlay straight away.
• Grab the corner nearest the wet patch with a pair of pliers and pull the carpet off the tack strip until you can fold back the wet section.
• Remove the wet underlay then roll back the carpet so you can fan-dry it flat for a few days.
• When the carpet is dry, glue or staple new underlay to the floor.
• Re-attach the carpet to the tack strip using a rented "knee-kicker."

Remember these tips to help you keep your carpets clean and cozy.