If you have carpets in your home, you know how challenging it can be to clean them, especially in high-traffic areas like the stairs. Cleaning carpets is vital, not only to make them look beautiful but also to keep allergens, dust, and irritants at bay.

Whether you have fully carpeted stairs or carpet runners on different parts of the staircase, you’ll need to deep-clean them particularly well if you have pets. Below are some tips on how to clean carpet on stairs fast and how to prevent them from getting run down and dirty.

Tips on How to Clean Carpet on Stairs

Though many people prefer getting their carpets cleaned professionally, it may not be affordable for every homeowner. However, you can get similar results with resources that may already be at your disposal. Keep reading to discover how to clean the carpet on stairs at home.

Scrape off dirt and hair

Before you start deep cleaning, scrape any dirt or dust off the carpet using a stiff brush or broom. Carpeted stairs normally do not get grubby or stained right away. They gather dirt over time before turning into what looks like a begrimed rag. You can keep most of that grime away by cleaning the stairs regularly.

Homeowners with pets should use a lint remover or pet hair-removing brushes to remove fur from the carpet. EzLint is one of the best hair and lint removers available in the market. You can use it to deep clean all kinds of soft surfaces, including carpets.

You’ll get the best results if you start at the last step, and down to the first. This way, the dirt from all the steps will form a heap on the floor and you can transfer it to a dustpan. It may be counterproductive to start the other way around as all the dust from the top step will fall onto the steps that you have already cleaned.

Use a Vacuum

A vacuum is a prerequisite in all cleaning regimens, from carpeted stairs to hardwood floors. However, carpeted surfaces require more frequent vacuum cleaning than any other surfaces. This is because dirt becomes embedded in carpet fibers and cannot be scraped off with a broom or brush. A vacuum cleaner, on the other hand, can suction out the ingrained dirt particles and brighten up the carpet.

While most vacuum cleaners have fittings for corners, crevices, and stairs, some manufacturers offer specialized adjuncts that must be bought separately. Though this may sound expensive, it’s a small price to pay for a cleaner, better-looking staircase. A hand-held vacuum, or dust buster, works wonderfully for carpeted stairs and is easier to use than a full-size vacuum cleaner.

Steam Clean Carpet

Many people don’t consider steam cleaning their carpets because they think only professionals can do it correctly. However, with the right tool at your disposal, you can get your carpet in mint condition. Steam cleaners extract pet hair, remove stains, and scour off ingrained dirt.

Since this kind of heavy-duty cleaning does not need to be performed frequently, you can even hire a professional cleaning company to do the job for you once a year. After all, no household equipment can match the results of industrial-grade machinery.

How to Clean Carpet on Stairs Without a Machine

There are multitudinous ways to clean carpeted stairs even if you don’t have any specialized equipment at home. Here’s how you can clean carpet on stairs without a machine:

Clean Excess Dirt

Before you use any chemicals to dissolve stains or grime, you must extract big dirt particles mechanically using a stiff blistered brush. You should sweep each stair at least two to three times to actually loosen and lift the dirt.

If your pet uses the staircase, chances are that you’ll find a lot of pet fur lying around. In such a case, a bristled brush won’t do the job satisfactorily. You’ll need a pet hair-removing tool like EzLint to clean the carpet of pet fur.

Use Carpet Shampoo

A variety of carpet cleaning products have been launched in the market, from pre-conditioners to carpet degreasers. However, a scrub brush and carpet shampoo can do the job just fine. You can perform carpet shampooing by hand or use a carpet cleaning machine.

While some spray-on carpet shampoos are specifically designed to be used with machines, others can be used in a spray bottle. All you have to do is place any carpet shampoo in a spray bottle and dilute it with water.

Starting from the top, spray the solution on each step and scrub the steps thoroughly with a brush or cloth. There’s no need to wash it with water. However, you’ll have to scrub it repeatedly to get rid of any stubborn stains that remain.

Use a DIY Solution

If you don’t have carpet shampoo at home, you can make a DIY solution to perform the above-mentioned cleaning process. Laundry detergent, dish soap, baking soda, and white vinegar – when used separately or in various combinations – can do wonders when it comes to cleaning carpets.

Due to its acidic properties, white vinegar can dissolve tough grime, grease, and mineral deposit. It can also kill germs owing to its disinfectant properties. However, you must dilute it before cleaning. You can also use dish soap or a mixture of vinegar and dish soap as a carpet cleaner.

Regardless of what chemical solution you use, you should perform a spot test to make sure it does not leave the carpet stained. If the spot yields desirable results, spray the solution liberally on each step from top to bottom. Let it soak for a few minutes before cleaning it with a dry towel.

You can also drench a scrub brush with the solution and rub it into the carpet vertically, circularly, and horizontally. Wait for about 5 to 10 minutes before wiping each step with a clean towel soaked in water.

Dry Stairs

Whether you shampoo the carpet or scrub it using a DIY solution, you’ll have to let it dry completely before you start using it again. Once the stair carpet dries up, use a vacuum cleaner to pick up any remaining dirt. Make sure your stairs do not receive any traffic during the drying process. Getting more dirt will only reverse the effects of the entire cleaning process.

How To Keep Carpet on Stairs Clean

The best way to keep your carpeted stairs clean is to minimize the dirt that gets there in the first place. Here’s how you can prevent the carpet on your stairs from getting dirty quickly:

Regularly Clean Pet

You will find your carpets getting dirty fast if your staircase is used by your pet, especially if you have a high-shedding breed. However, you can considerably reduce shedding by cleaning and grooming your pet regularly. When your pet sheds less, your stairs stay clean longer.

Even if you don’t want to bathe your pet frequently, you can simply use a dry pet shampoo before brushing its fur. Regular grooming is one of the easiest ways to keep pet hair off your carpets.

Clean Your Carpeted Stairs Regularly

As carpets don’t get dirty right away, many people wait for several weeks before cleaning their carpets. However, the longer you wait to clean it, the more dirt it amasses. Instead of performing thorough cleaning every other month, you should mop it daily and scrub it every other week. This will keep dirt from turning into grime, and stains from becoming deeply ingrained.

Clean-up methods vary depending on the material of the carpets and the stains you are trying to dissolve. Pet owners should vacuum the carpet on stairs every day to prevent the hair from pressing into the carpet. There are fewer chances of pet hair getting embedded in the carpet fibers if you scrape them off daily.