Having dogs, cats, kid and hubby all tracking various things into the house, we are always in need of carpet cleaning. When it rains, the dogs track in mud from the backyard. When it’s not raining, my husband tracks in dirt from the garden. It doesn’t matter if it rains or not, my son always has something dirty and yucky on the bottom of his shoes.
Do you get frustrated when you have to ask boys to “wipe your feet” a way too many times in one day? I know I do. Here are a few ways to try to keep your carpet cleaner without nagging your family to “wipe your feet.”
1. Have a shoe cubby for each family member at the door. If you have a back door and a front door, have a shoe cubby at each door. Encourage children and spouses to remove their shoes when they come in the door. This will keep the mud and dirt in one area instead of it getting tracked through every room in your house. These shoe cubbies can be easily made if your spouse is handy with wood and tools. If not, they can be purchased at most Targets and furniture stores.
2. Invest in rubber shoe covers. Find some rubber shoe covers that will fit easily over kid’s shoes. They can track through all the mud they want, just as long as they take the rubber covers off before the step foot into the house.
3. Invest in or make shoe covers to wear inside. Does your hubby complain that he will NOT take his shoes off if he is just coming in for a drink of water. If you have shoe covers at the door, he can just slip those over his muddy boots and walk wherever his heart desires.
4. Get rid of your rugs! If there aren’t any rugs to dirty, life will be much simpler. It is much easier to mop a tile or wood floor than is it to call a professional carpet cleaner. If I used a professional service every time my carpets needed cleaning, I would have them come at least twice a month.
Unfortunately, I can’t get my dogs to wear paw covers or use a shoe cubby. But I can reduce the amount of dirt they track in by wiping their paws at the door. This may seems tedious if you have more than one dog and 4 paws turn into 24 paws. But, in the long run, your carpets will thank you.
