I’m a renter and I’ve had my fair share of carpet disasters – these are the tricks I swear by

Home decorator Ammarah Hasham is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts infusing her rental house with plenty of personality. See the rest of her articles here.

Bedrooms were strictly shoe-free zones in our house. That was one rule nobody questioned. There were no exceptions and certainly no, ‘I’ll only be a second.’

I think part of it was due to the fact that our bedrooms were often covered in wall-to-wall carpet, with sumptuous rugs layered on top, and bringing outside shoes onto all that soft flooring felt like a hygienic threat. In fact, carpets were such a feature in our home that we sometimes identified bedrooms by them without even realising. “Put it in the green room,” or “Who left the light on in the beige room?”.

It was quite a normal part of growing up that even now, seeing someone walk into a carpeted bedroom wearing outdoor shoes feels slightly wrong to me.

You get the picture

Naturally, the strict no-shoes-in-the-bedroom policy followed me into my own home.

As an adult, and particularly as a renter, I appreciate rugs and carpets even more. I happily spend a considerable amount of time maintaining them with much the same diligence, partly because I like them clean and partly because the thought of my feet meeting the icy floor first thing in the morning is enough motivation on its own.

And thus, over the years, I have picked up a handful of carpet-care tricks.

Blot the spill

I’d be fibbing if I said I had never dropped anything on my landlord’s carpet. Accidents happen and real life, usually in the form of an open can of soft drink left in the dodgiest possible place, can humble you.

Deal with the spill straightaway. The longer something sits in the carpet fibres, the harder it usually becomes to remove. My first port of call is a few sheets of absorbent kitchen roll. I gently blot the liquid and avoid rubbing the spill as it pushes it further into the fibres and spreads it around.

Invest in a good carpet cleaner

Some domestic disasters need a heavier helping hand. If your budget allows, I would definitely recommend investing in a good carpet cleaner. It makes the job far easier and, if you use it as regularly as I do, the cost per use starts to feel very justified.

Before buying mine, I often rented a Rug Doctor, but with a family, spills, and the general level of cleanliness I like to maintain, buying my own machine has been a decision I have not regretted.

I became a true convert the day I accidentally dropped a can of paint on my landlord’s carpet. It felt like a scene from a horror movie, but the carpet cleaner did such a brilliant job that there was barely any trace of the accident left.

When things get sticky

Finding chewing gum stuck to the carpet is enough to send shivers down your spine especially when you can’t identify the culprit. But the quicker you deal with it, the better. I use Blu Tack quite regularly too and, if a tiny piece gets left behind unnoticed, I sometimes find it firmly squashed into the carpet fibres.

For sticky situations like these, ice cubes are brilliant. Put a few cubes into a zip-lock bag and hold it over the gum or Blu Tack until it becomes firm. Once it hardens, gently lift it away.

Rotate the rug

Whatever the shoe etiquette is in your home, a rug, unlike fitted carpet, is fairly easy to move around for maintenance. I often count on rugs to disguise tired carpets in my rented homes, but over time they inevitably start to show signs of daily life.

Where possible, I take smaller rugs outside, hang them up and give them a thorough shake to loosen any dust, grit or crumbs embedded in them. Since some areas get exposed to footsteps, furniture and sunlight more than others, I also rotate my rugs every few months. It helps spread the wear and fading more evenly.

Salt to the rescue

With years of tea-spilling experience behind me, I can confirm that this is one of the tricks my family has always reached for. In my mother’s opinion, it is an excellent emergency solution for accidental tea spills.

Blot up as much of the excess liquid as possible with a kitchen roll, then sprinkle a generous amount of salt over the damp area and let it sit for some time. When sprinkled, salt starts pulling moisture from the carpet and stops it from spreading any further. I have seen it in action many times, and it is oddly fascinating to watch.