With the holidays just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about planning those festive holiday get-togethers. Preparation is the key to any good shindig and that means compiling a guest list, organizing the menu, checking for drink recipes, decorating the home, and buying enough supplies to ensure the night is a complete success.

But aren’t you forgetting something? What about your carpet? If you are getting ready to welcome any group of people into your home for a few hours much less an entire evening, you can bet your carpet is going to be subject to some increased foot traffic and any number of potential hazards from spilled beverages to errant food fumbles.

Believe it or not, one of the first things your guests will notice is the state of your carpet which is why you need to bolster it against the crowd of visitors who will be marching across it throughout the season.

In order to do that, you need to prepare your carpet for the holiday party season and there are some specific steps you should take to do just that. Chem-Dry of Beaufort County offers these effective ways to protect your expensive floor coverings so you may preserve the look and feel of your fibers for years to come:

Vacuum Everywhere

Start with grabbing that vacuum cleaner out of the closet and put it to good use. Yes, you want to vacuum every room (at least every room where your guests will be permitted access) so you don’t layer dirt upon dirt. Eliminate the soil that’s been stuck inside your carpet fibers so it doesn’t get ground in further and deeper by all of that increased foot traffic.

Be sure to get every inch of your carpet, placing special care and attention on those areas that have been discolored or appear to have lost their luster. That includes reaching under any furniture or other furnishings that might be covering up portions of the carpeting.

Apply a Protectant

Many carpets on the market today come with stain guards that prevent spills from becoming long-term problems. The material is treated with a repellent that acts as a protective barrier between spilled wine, gooey dips, dark gravies and sauces, and whatever the kids are carrying around and chewing on throughout the course of the evening.

These stain repellents are an ideal way to keep that carpet looking its best. Unfortunately, your carpet may not have such an innovative design feature because it’s a bit older, perhaps. Maybe you didn’t feel like splurging at the time of purchase and now you wish you had paid a little extra for that type of floor covering.

Guess what, you’re in luck. Many carpet cleaning companies can come to your house and apply this type of sealant to your carpet fibers, keeping them perfectly safe from all of the dangers that a holiday party represents and preserve the look and feel of your expensive floor coverings. This protectant will eventually wear off so don’t expect it to seal the carpet for the life of the material, but you can be sure that it will make a big difference for the night of your get-together and the weeks beyond.

Establish Boundaries

This is your home, so you make the rules. That goes for everyone on the guest list and if you’re trying to keep your carpet in excellent shape you can take some preventive measures with respect to setting some rules for the night of the party.

First, you may want to have all of your guests remove their shoes before entering your home. Think of all the places your shoes have been in the past day or week, now multiply that by the number of people who are coming over for the party. Where have their shoes been and what have they been doing?

Doesn’t matter, it’s all going to end up on your carpet if you permit them all to walk over it with their shoes on. Keep the shoes off and you will be helping your carpet survive the party.

You may also want to limit the rooms in which your guests may enter so that you can reduce the amount of messes that might be made in those rooms. If no one is inside a room, they can’t possibly spill their glass of wine on the carpet that’s inside. That goes for bringing food in and out of certain rooms as well, you may want to cordon off specific rooms so as to prohibit eating inside.