A clean sweep

To all at Dogs Today,

I’m hoping you can help me please. I'm after some advice as I’ve just moved house to a house with far more carpet, and much thicker, better quality carpets than our previous home had. We’re not in a rush to change them as they’re decent enough and it’s the kitchen that needs the most work.

I’m finding myself doing a lot more cleaning of carpets than I used to! I have two dogs, an elderly Border Terrier and a rather energetic Cocker Spaniel. Both enjoy bringing mud in, and I’m sure watching me remove it!

What have you found to be the best vacuums and carpet shampoo to keep carpets as clean as possible?

I’d be so grateful if you could advise.

Thank you,

Mrs J. Christian, York

What's the best way to clean my carpets?

I'm not the most house-proud person in the world, I don't think you really can be when you have three dogs! But I'm really at my wits' end at the moment. It's so wet and muddy everywhere, and though I do try to clean/dry the dogs' paws when we come back from a walk, you can't do that every time they come in from the garden, and my carpets are really suffering. You should see my car boot, too, despite using vet bedding!

We moved into a new house towards the end of last year, and it is beautifully carpeted throughout; unfortunately not in the colours I would have chosen - they are a pale cream colour. The carpets were practically new when we bought the house, they are beautiful, just not very practical, and we simply cannot afford to replace them. But the dirt the dogs are bringing in is taking its toll, and, even worse, I'm hoping for a new addition to the pack in the spring.

Our ground floor is open-plan and I can't easily contain the dogs in one area. I have looked into professional cleaning but it's very expensive, and it's going to need doing regularly. What's the most cost effective way of cleaning carpets? Or should we just save up for new, mud-coloured ones...

Jennifer James, Fleet, Hants