Renting: How To Protect Yourself & The Carpet

Early on in my marriage, my husband and I rented a lot of properties before we bought our own home. We moved around for my husband’s job too so we were experts at moving - we've lived in 14 different homes, to be exact!

Ah renting. I don’t miss it one little bit.

What’s the problem with renting? Well you don’t own it for one thing and you live on tenterhooks hoping that nothing gets irretrievably damaged. You also may find that landlords are a little slow sometimes in making reasonable repairs. And then there’s the property manager ...

Read on for some tips on what to do about carpets when you rent. After all, your carpets are meant to be left in the same condition as what you found them in, minus “reasonable wear and tear”.

1. Be a photographer: Take photos when you first move in. This technique can be used for all parts of the house, not just carpets. Photograph any and all damage that you find. Include blinds and curtains, walls, cupboards – the lot. Date the photographs and ensure that the property manager acknowledges them. This will be important later. They don't have to be professional photos, just be sure that you capture every detail that you can.

2. Report the detail: Pay attention to the inspection report and if you have to, attach an extra sheet of paper to the report to give you more space to make detailed observations. Nothing is too small to include. Don’t skimp on this. Take the time. Nothing should be missed.

3. Kids and carpets: If you have small children, consider purchasing a large mat or have a piece of heavy weight clear plastic cut for underneath the dining table. At my house you can always tell which seat my little girl sat in - there is a circle of mess and stained flooring. I always did this and it was a complete life-saver. Food goes everywhere with little ones so don’t be caught unprepared. Plastic was great because it was easy to clean and cheap to replace. I always used clear plastic so you could actually see the carpet beneath and it didn’t look so obvious.

4. Become an expert: Learn how to remove stains and spills. Always clean immediately and never rub a carpet spill as just pushing it into the fibres makes it worse. Blot with a clean white cloth from the outside in, being careful not to spread the spill. Check the Electrodry website for stain removal tips. Be prepared and have the tools you need to clean up spills on hand at all times.

5. Use your own rugs: In areas of high traffic and use, consider purchasing your own rugs and mats to protect the carpet – this has the added benefit of personalising your space. There are a lot of affordable options out there as well - do your research.

6. Wear socks not shoes: A super easy way to keep carpets clean is to remove your shoes at the door and replace them with socks or house slippers. Bare feet will leave body oils and shed skin in the carpet which attracts bacteria and can cause staining.

7. Vacuum regularly: Vacuum at least once per week. This will give you a chance to take a regular good look at the carpets so there can be no nasty surprises. Make sure that you're vacuuming your carpet fibres in both directions.

8. Compare with your photographs: When it comes time to move out again, compare the carpets with the photographs you took at the beginning and if there’s any difference, let your carpet cleaner know to pay particular attention to that area. This is a great way to protect yourself (and your carpet).

9. Choose your own carpet cleaner: Some real estate agencies will try to force you to use a particular professional carpet cleaner. You do not have to use the recommended carpet cleaner – you are legally entitled to choose your own. Choose a carpet cleaner you can trust and one that offers a guarantee. (Electrodry Carpet Dry Cleaning offer a 14 day satisfaction guarantee so that if you are unhappy with the results you can have them re-cleaned at no charge).

10. Do a final check: Once you’ve had your carpets professionally cleaned, check the results against the original photographs again. If you are unhappy with the result, call your carpet cleaner back. Some stains can be permanent though so it’s worth knowing what can cause permanent stains and take special care around the use of these items. Ink and textas spring to my mind so don’t let the kids use them on the carpet! Urine stains are also another problematic issue, so keep the pets outside. Electrodry's website has some great tips on how to effectively treat many different types of stains.