Carpet is a big investment for a homeowner. Taking good care of your carpet is vital to keep it from becoming stained and soiled. Deep cleaning carpet also helps keep your home free from dust, allergens, and other irritants.

Carpet cleaning can be a challenging task even on a level floor, but balancing on stairs adds a whole new level of difficulty. Whether you have full stair carpet or a simple carpet runner, keeping carpeted stairs clean is probably not your favorite task.

Fortunately, there are plenty of tips and tricks to make carpet stair cleaning easier. Here are some of our favorite ways to clean carpeted stairs—with and without machines.

Vacuuming

It’s nearly impossible to explain how to clean carpet on stairs without mentioning a vacuum cleaner. While you can sweep a low-pile carpet with a broom and dustpan, you really need the power of suction to remove all the soil that gets embedded in carpet fibers.

Most vacuum cleaners come with an attachment for stairs, corners, and crevices. Other manufacturers sell stair attachments that must be purchased separately. If you have carpeted stairs, an attachment is a small investment that will make cleaning much easier.

You might find a small, hand-held vacuum cleaner easier to operate than a big vacuum cleaner, even with the right attachment. The Black and Decker Max Cordless Lithium DustBuster Hand Vacuum is an excellent cleaning tool for carpeted stairs. Other models might be cheaper, but this one has a 16-volt lithium battery that holds a charge for up to 18 months. It has three times the suction power of other models and is cordless and lightweight for easy operation.

Owning a hand vacuum is great for many reasons. Not only will it help keep your stair carpet clean, you can use it to vacuum your vehicles and furniture. Try to use your vacuum cleaner on the stairs at least once a week. Twice a week—or even daily—is ideal if you have a lot of foot traffic in your home.