Housekeeping secrets: Caring for your carpet

Cooking fumes, cigarette smoke and other smells cling to carpets and make a whole house smell musty.

To freshen up, spread a liberal coat of baby powder over the carpetusing a sieve. Leave the powder in place for a few hours, or overnight, then vacuum it up. 

Bicarbonate of soda will do the same job; with a darker carpet, you may want to throw in a bit of ground cinnamon or nutmeg to sweeten the smell. 

Whenever you move a piece of furniture, indents remain in the carpet, but you can spruce up the crush fibres using an iron and a fork.

Put the iron onto the steam setting and hold it about 0.5cm above the carpet, then fluff out the steamed fibres with the tines of the fork. (Take added care not to melt man-made fibres.)

It happens all the time: a beautiful rug catches your eye and you pay hard-earned cash for it, imagining how its delightful pale colours will lighten up your living room. You bring it home, put it down and it looks superb.

Unfortunately, the dog and cat are just as drawn to it as you are and like an incredible magnet, it seems to attract your pets at the precise moment they need to throw up a hairball or old bone.

Sound familiar? Remember this the next time you go rug or carpet shopping and plan accordingly. You will still have to clean it, but your stain woes will be much less serious if you don't buy a light-coloured rug.

Peanut butter as a carpet cleanrer? It's a nutty idea, but nutty in a good way. Peanut butter helps remove chewing gum from a carpet. First, heat the area with a hair dryer to loosen the gum. 

Press the area gently with a plastic bag, which shoudl life at least some of the gum. You could also try scraping it up with a plastic spatula. Some gum will remain in the carpet, which is where the peanut butter comes in: the natural oils help the carpet to detach from the gum. 

Rub a small blob of peanut butter into the spot, let it sit for 5 minutes and then wipe it up with a damp cloth. To finish off, dab the spot with warm water mixed with one teaspoon of washing up liquid. 

Mix one part white vinegar to ten parts hot water, or alternatively 1/2 cup household ammonia in two cups of hot water. 

Use it either in a carpet-cleaning machin or apply with a scrubbing brush and elbow grease. Rinse the cleaned carpet with a damp cloth. To help to dissipate any lingering odours, open the windows, and if necessary, place an oscillating fan in the room. 

Don't waste time crying over spilled paint. Instead,spring into action before it sets. 

Mix one and a half teaspoons of vinegar and one and a half teaspoons of laundry detergent into two cups of warm water.

Now sponge away the paint, a task that takes time and lots of elbow grease, and rinse with cold water.

If you're lucky, what might have been an unwelcome and permanent decorating touch will be gone. It's certainly worth a try. 

Dust and pet dander collect daily on and in the fibres of rugs, so shake them out the old-fashioned way to get rid of it.

Hang the rug over a rail or taut clothes line and beat it with a tennis racquet or cricket bat. 

Has your beloved but incontinent dog relieved himself on the priceless Peshawar rug that you inherited from Aunty Anne? There's no need to find a new home for the dog. Scoop up the mess, turn the rug over, place a bucket under the offending spot and pour water repeatedly through the underside of the stain and into the bucket until the spot is gone. 

This will clean the delicate fibres without the need for scrubbing. 

Every waiter and barman knows how reliable a stain remover soda water can be.

To use it on a stained carpet, pour it on the stain, leave for three minutes and dab it up with a paper towel or sponge.