Make Cleaning Carpeted Stairs Easier With A Trick Professionals Use

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When it comes to keeping your house clean, there are certain areas that are more challenging than others. Carpeted stairs are among some of the trickiest, especially if you have animals in the home. No matter how cute your pup may be when he's napping at the top of the stairs, his constant activity on your carpets isn't making cleaning them any easier. While there are many reasons to add carpet to your stairs, a major drawback is the maintenance. Fortunately, there is an easy-to-execute trick that professional cleaners use which can get your carpeted stairs cleaner than ever, and it only requires a vacuum and a brush.

Carpeted floors are notoriously hard to clean because dirt, debris, and animal hair settle on the surface and then are pushed deep within the layers of the floor which makes them difficult — if not impossible — to get out at a later time. Carpeted stairs add a level of complexity, however, in that there are tight corners where the treads meet the risers, paired with limited working space. The handy trick that professional cleaners sometimes use to clean carpeted stairs is to grab a stiff-bristled brush and use it to agitate the stairs' fibers. By doing this, you'll dislodge pet hair and other debris that is deep below the surface level of the carpet, allowing your vacuum to suck it up on the next pass.

Using a stiff brush to lift debris from your carpet requires the right approach, starting with a good brush. This Three-Piece Scrub Brush Set from Trazon ($16.99 on Amazon) comes with a couple normal scrub brushes that are ideal for working on the surface of the step, as well as a longer-handled crevice brush that can help you loosen debris in the corners. You'll also want to have a full-sized vacuum that has a hose or a hand-held vacuum with a crevice attachment.

Once you've acquired the right tools, the appropriate method is to work step by step, thoroughly brushing the fibers and paying special attention to corners (but not too aggressively for fear of damaging the step's fibers). After this sweep, you'll be ready to move in with the vacuum cleaner, which will suck up loosened debris. Avoid a common vacuuming mistake of starting at the lowest step; instead work from the top to the bottom, which will ensure you catch all of the falling debris on the pass of the next step.

While cleaning your floor with this approach can't do anything to revive crushed carpet fibers, it can make a big difference in how much dirt is removed and, therefore, how clean your stairs are. After you've brushed and vacuumed your stairs, you can also try TikTok's clever trick that makes cleaning carpeted stairs a breeze. Finally, if you want your carpeted surfaces to stay clean, you need to brush and vacuum them often — which can be twice a week for high-traffic areas like stairs.