With bells jingling and stockings hanging off the tree, the floor is usually the last thing anyone thinks about — right up until twenty people are standing on it. A little planning before Christmas dinner saves a great deal of scrubbing on Boxing Day.
Put a rug under the table
A flat-weave rug beneath the dining table catches gravy, dropped chocolate and pulled bonbons, and it can be taken outside afterwards. Choose a low pile with a pattern rather than a plush cream one, and put a non-slip pad underneath so nobody goes over carrying the pavlova. If the rug takes a hit, professional rug cleaning in our workshop is far safer than a hose in the backyard.
Think about where the drinks table goes
Put it on hard floor if you possibly can, and keep it away from the walkway between the kitchen and the lounge. Red wine on carpet is the classic Christmas casualty, and it is almost always a nudged glass in a doorway rather than a dropped one at the table.
Deal with the spill, not the stain
Blot straight away with a white cloth and cold water, working from the outside in. Skip the hot water on gravy, custard and cream — heat cooks protein into the fibre and locks it there. Candle wax is left to harden and then chipped off, never rubbed. Our carpet stain removal guide runs through the festive offenders in more detail.
Watch the tree
Real pine drops needles and sap, and both work into carpet where they are miserable to get out. Stand the tree on a mat or a sheet, keep the water tray full so it drops less, and vacuum around the base every couple of days rather than once at the end.
Lounges and dining chairs take the worst of it
Guests eat on the sofa at Christmas whatever anyone says. Fabric seats and dining chairs collect more than the floor does, and they are handled through our upholstery cleaning service. Leather suites want conditioning rather than wetting — that is leather cleaning. If the party spread onto tiles, tile and grout cleaning takes the ground-in grime out of the joins.
Clean before, or clean after?
Both work, for different reasons. A clean in early December gives you fresh carpet for guests and a protected surface if you add Scotchgard. A clean in January resets everything the silly season put on the floor. Either way, book early — December fills quickly and the week before Christmas is always the first to go.
Book your festive clean
Adam’s Carpet Cleaning is a family business operating since 2004, with over 25 years of experience and IICRC-certified technicians. Cleaning starts from $40 to $60 per hour, two-bedroom homes from $120 and three-bedroom from $150. Emergency and same-day call-outs run right through the holidays for the spills that will not wait. Phone 1300 309 276, book online or request a free quote.
