The very first thing that you need to do is get the carpets to dry as quickly as possible. A carpet that dries quickly is much less likely to have problems with spots wicking back not to mention the fact that you want to get it to back in use as soon as possible. To do this you should turn on all the ceiling fans in your home as soon as you can. Then if you have any portable fans you should put them to use and have them on and blowing on the carpet. Your goal is to keep as much air moving as possible. Now that you have the air moving you need to get the moisture out of the air. If it is a nice sunny and dry day you can open all of the windows to allow fresh and dry air into your home. If it is too hot you should turn your air conditioner on at a modest level such as 75 degrees. You do not want it too cold or too hot in your home. Just somewhere in between. If it is the winter just turn your heat on and the fan to run to keep air circulating. The air is always drier in the winter so it will dry quickly. The next thing you want to do after your carpet cleaner arrives is stay off of the carpet as much as possible. If you have pets, lock them in a non carpeted room or put them outside. If you have kids, now might be a good time to take them out for lunch or to go to the park. It is easier to transfer dirt to a wet carpet so stay off of it as much as possible. The last thing you want to do is vacuum the carpet once it is dry. Cleaning will pull things up from the backing of the carpet and the edges of the carpet. Vacuuming will remove any of this material and any carpet cleaning chemicals that have dried to a powder. Make sure that the carpet is completely dry before vacuuming it. This is also a good time to go around and remove any furniture pads which might have been left under your furniture legs by your carpet cleaner.

That is it. You are now ready to enjoy your fresh and clean carpet. Doing these simple things will help you get the most out of it.