Tip one: Spend your money on a very good, high suction vacuum cleaner. A good vacuum cleaner can get virtually all of the dirt out of your carpet, from the base upwards, and can really help with keeping your carpet clean.

Tip two: Do not clean your carpets too often, or you are wasting your money. The detergent residue in the cleaner will attract more dirt and grime to your carpet. So, over doing it causes your carpets to get dirtier.

Tip three: Help your carpet stay clean by doing some simple things like put rugs over the carpet by the entrance to the room, and by all the main entrance doors. And, be sure to vacuum these particular rugs every day.

Tip four: Vacuum your carpet at least once a week, every other day if you use them a lot, this will keep the carpet from getting dirty deep in the pile, not just on top.

Now let's take a look at stains on your carpet. There are three basic categories for the types of stains you can get, and you will clean the stained area based on the type of stain it is:

1. First you have indeterminate stains which are usually food, drink or water based.
2. Next you have organic stains that are petroleum based, such as lipstick, nail varnish, oils, inks, paints. etc.
3. And lastly you have organic stains that come from human or animal products (milk, blood, poo, pee)

So, the fact is that most stains will fall under the first category. So, to treat use washing soda or bicarbonate of soda, put it in a solution with water, treat, then dry the treated area quickly.

If the stain falls into category number two then you will want to first use an acetone nail polish remover to treat the stain, if you are worried about using acetone, use alcohol. Once again, you will want to dry the carpet quickly after treatment. You may have to do several treatments for stains of this kind.

If the stain fits into the third category, first make sure there is no product still on top (for example, if there is poop on the carpet, clean it off first). Then, wash the area with bicarbonate of soda to neutralize the stain and smell. Then let it dry. Then wash it again with an enzyme detergent, then rinse out solutions, and let dry.

You can get fleas in your carpet if you have pets, so make sure to treat your pets for fleas regularly so that they do not spread them to your house. Then, use flea powder and vacuum it up every few weeks just to ensure you do not get some horrible flea infestation.

The key to good carpet cleaning is to act quickly, use the right cleaner based on the type of stain, and take preventative measures. Vacuum often, this is very helpful.