Spring Cleaning: Do Fabrics First

Fabrics that have absorbed a winter’s worth of dirt, body oil, and germs will need a deep cleaning to get them ready for another year of wear. That usually means using a carpet cleaner to shampoo carpets and clean upholstery.

When renting a carpet cleaner, practice first in an unobtrusive area to make sure you have the knack of the machine and that the treatment won’t discolor fabrics or cause dyes to run.

Move furniture just slightly—not out of the room or against the wall, as the old rules dictated — and place the legs of each piece back on top of small wax paper squares after shampooing. The wax paper will protect your carpet and keep the furniture legs from getting wet as the carpet dries.

Open the windows to speed drying, which can take a day or more. And if you’re not the furniture-shifting, machine-renting type, hire a professional carpet and upholstery cleaner.