Stairs are difficult to clean. They’re too small for your full size machine to clean, which means they’re easily neglected and forgotten. If the stains on your carpet stairs have become an embarrassing eyesore, then you may be considering removing the carpet and replacing it with wood, tile, or a fresh coat of paint. Here is what you should know before starting this project.
Find the Seam to Start
The carpet on stairs will have a seam at the top and bottom, and there may also be seams in the middle. Look at the back of a stair of the first stair where the main floor meets the riser. You should be able to locate the seam, work a tool into the seam and start pulling the carpet up. You can also start at the top of the stairs by looking at the base of the riser that meets the next floor.
Work Carefully to Avoid Accidents
Pulling carpet from stairs can be dangerous. You don’t want to focus so much on pulling up the carpet that you fall down. As the carpet comes up, the stairs also become impossible to walk on. You will essentially be limited to the stairs that are already stripped because the rolled carpet won’t be stable. You can make the process safer by cutting the carpet into smaller strips as you loosen strips of the carpet. Remember that stairs also have tacks to hold the carpet in place. As you expose the strips, use a hammer and pry bar to remove them and prevent accidents.
Clean the Stairs to Avoid Carpet Replacement
The good news is that you don’t have to rip out the old carpet. You can clean them and remove stains, so you won’t have to deal with this time-consuming and dangerous project. Most vacuum cleaners have a special attachment for upholstery. Use this to clean the stairs. If you’re in the market for a new vacuum, look for one that has special stair attachments with a spinning brush in the attachment head.
Steam Clean and Stain Treatment
The same cleaning methods used for carpets can be used on stairs. If you have a steam cleaner, use the upholstery attachment to shampoo and clean the carpet on the stairs. Otherwise, you can scrub the carpet using a bowl of water with dish detergent and a sponge. Keep whipping the detergent to create foam, and then scrub that foam into the carpet. Allow is to soak in for a few minutes before rinsing it with warm water. Finally, let the stairs dry and then vacuum them once again.
If the stairs in your home are looking dingy and you’re considering taking the carpet out, try cleaning it first. If you’re unable to remove the stains and restore the carpeting, call High Quality Carpet to see if we can help. We have special tools that can reach the tight spaces in stairs and clean every runner. Our team uses special pre-treaters to address stains, so you can enjoy clean stairs without going through the hassle of carpet removal.
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