Taking care of your carpets is essential to the cleanliness and look of the house. There is nothing more unattractive than dingy, unkempt carpets. Luckily, having beautiful carpets doesn't mean you have to replace your carpet often. You can have nice looking carpet, even if it is older; the key is how you care for it. Here are a couple things you should know about caring for your carpet.

1. Always Get Sealants Put Down After Professional Cleanings

After you get your carpets professionally cleaned, which should be often, you should get a sealant put down. Usually the carpet cleaning company will offer this service for an additional fee. It is worth the free, and you should consider doing it. The sealant helps to keep the dirt, oil and spills on the surface of the carpet. This means that when you vacuum and clean the carpets you will be better able to pick up all the dirt since it won't be able to seep into the roots of the carpet.

You may be surprised to see that the carpets look a little dirtier when they go un-vacuumed; this is because the dirt is on the surface and not hidden in the fibers. But once you vacuum, they should look better than ever.

2. Keep Bare Feet Off The Carpet

Many people implement the no shoe rule in their house. This is a fabulous rule that should be in every household. However, what many people fail to understand is that even your bare feet can damage the carpet. Your skin has oil on it. When you walk around without socks on, the oil and sweat from your feet get onto the carpet, damaging it. Oil is one of the hardest things to get out of carpet, so over time, these oils could damage the carpet.

3. Improper Cleaning Of Spills

Another important thing every homeowner should know is how to properly care for spills on their carpet. Even the most careful homeowners will have spills, which is why you should always have carpet cleaner on hand, not upholstery cleaner or laundry detergent, to use on the carpets.

In addition, you should use the right temperature of water to clean. For example, you should always clean blood with cold water, but only clean up milk with warm water. Mixing these two up could lead to damaging your carpet.

By understanding how to properly care for your carpets, you can keep them looking nice.