We’re sure you had a great holiday season, but we also know that you’re probably glad it’s over. No more guests to feed and entertain, no more presents to buy, and no more traveling. The worst part about the holidays being over is that now you have to clean up. It’s after the New Year, so if you haven’t already, it’s officially time for you to take down your decorations and rearrange your home back to its usual, non-holiday layout. While doing this, you may discover a few messes in your carpet or upholstery. Here are a few tips on how to clean up specific holiday messes:

Hot Cocoa Spills

The colder it gets outside, the more people want to drink something that will warm them up, like hot cocoa. Its popularity, however, makes it that much more likely for it to be spilled on your carpet or upholstery. To remove any fresh stains from your carpet: Take a clean washcloth and blot the spill until the cocoa is fully absorbed into the fabric. Do not rub the washcloth over the spill; this will just push the cocoa around and spread the spill over a wider area. If there is a stain left over, dab a new washcloth into a mixture made up of one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap and two cups of warm water. Then, rub the moist end of the cloth into the stain until it has been removed. You can use the same method when cleaning up a spill from upholstery.

Pine Tree Needles

If you celebrate Christmas, and you love to decorate your home for the occasion, you know that cleaning up after your Christmas tree can be a real pain: Pine needles from your tree will periodically fall off and hide in the bristles of your carpet. When you pick up the tree to throw it away for the season, an avalanche of pine needles will shower down over your carpet. Not only are these needles unsightly, but they can also hurt if you step on them with bare feet.

To effectively remove pine needles from your carpet, you’ll need leather work gloves, a full-sized vacuum cleaner with attachments, a broom and a lint roller (or duct tape). Before you do anything, put on the leather gloves to protect your hands from the pokey pine needles. Unhitch the removable handle of your vacuum and graze the affected area with the end to pick up as many of the needles as you can. Invariably, there will be some left over. At this point, you’ll sweep more of the needles (hopefully you set up your tree close to a non-carpet, smooth surface). From there, you’ll take either your lint roller or your duct tape and pick up the remaining pine needles. Voila!

Wrapping Paper Glitter

Glitter just can’t take the hint. Everyone has gone home, all your decorations have been put away, but glitter wants to stick around a little longer. What’s more, it catches onto anything that crosses its path and spreads around your home. Glitter can get meshed into your carpet pretty easily this way, but it certainly doesn’t come out with the same ease. To remove glitter from your carpet, retract your detachable handle from your vacuum and move it over anywhere glitter catches the light. You’ll have to do this several times in order to see descent results. From there, take duct tape or a lint roller and dab or roll it over the carpet to pick up any excess.

Most of the stains and messes from the holidays can be easily managed using cleaning supplies you already have laying around your home. For the bigger messes, call Aqualux Carpet Cleaning. Our hot water extraction (steam-cleaning) methods remove tough stains and make carpet fibers stand up, so that your flooring appears nearly brand new. We use a special, unique-to-our-company solution that disinfects at the same time it cleans, so your family will be less likely to catch that horrible flu that’s going around. We know that after the holidays, you’ll want to save money, which is why we want you to peruse our monthly specials. We believe in giving you a quality service at an affordable rate! To schedule an appointment, call us at the number below or email us at sales@aqualuxcarpetcleaning.com.