subject: A Few Carpet Cleaning And Maintenance Suggestions To Prolong The Life Of Your Carpet [print this page] In the last 50 years wall-to-wall carpeting has been the overwhelming choice as a floor covering in homes. It has been and continues to be the most affordable floor covering as well as offering many advantages and benefits that other floor coverings cannot compare. With the many different styles, textures and colours it is the foundation for decorating any room in your home and it creates an unlimited number of possibilities. Carpet provide a warmth, elegance and beauty that cannot be surpassed.
Most people would like their carpets to last for many years and look good throughout their home and in order to achieve this it is necessary to follow a few suggestions for cleaning and maintenance. Even with many years of wear and tear and heavy foot traffic you can maintain the beauty and elegance of your carpet.
The single most important routine you can follow is to vacuum your carpet regularly. Many people believe that if you vacuum your carpet too often you will cause damage but in actuality the reverse is true. Regular vacuuming will prolong the life of your carpet and eliminate unnecessary wear and tear. When you vacuum it is important to use a machine that has a beater bar with rows of soft brushes. You should also vacuum at a slow enough pace to give the machine an opportunity to remove a sufficient amount of dirt.
The friction caused by this embedded dirt in your carpet will break down the fibers, dull the colors and cause the carpets to lose their sheen. This is where you get those unsightly pathways and once they start to form this is damage that cannot be reversed. Proper vacuuming on a frequent basis will prevent this problem.
Generally, wear and tear on your carpet takes place in areas with high foot traffic. When you consider all the carpeted areas in your home there is usually more wear in front of doors, main hallways, near tables or in front of favorite sitting areas. It is a good idea to place small mats or area rugs in these areas to protect your wall to wall carpeting from excessive wear. Using small rugs that are washable in a washing machine will make your job easier and prolong the beauty of your carpeting for many, many years.
Also, getting in the habit of wearing slippers can prevent unnecessary dirt patterns from forming. You should make a note to use slippers that have a hard rubber sole so that you don't leave marks.
Another major problem to the life of your carpets are spots and spills. If you have small kids and pets in the house you will notice more accidents and spills from drinks, food or pet messes. It is necessary to remember that the quicker you remove these spots or spills the easier it becomes. Keeping a good spot cleaner handy is the simplest way to remove these stains as they happen. There are many good, versatile spot cleaners on the market that work for many food stains and pet accidents but it is important to follow the instructions on the bottles to stop any damage that you may cause to the carpet. Also having a wetvac to remove any residue from your spot cleaning attempts can improve your rate of success.
With pets it doesn't matter how well trained they are there will be moments when accidents occur. With urine it is necessary to remove the stain and the odor because pets have a tendency to return to the same spot over and over again. Most times regular carpet cleaning products won't work and you have to to use an enzyme cleaner to remove the stain and odors. You can usually purchase these products at pet stores. Enzymes in the carpet cleaning solutions make the stains disappear and neutralize the odor, this will prevent any permanent damage from occurring and the pets will not mark the spots repeatedly.
In addition to removing the dry dirt through vacuuming your carpet and removing the spots through spot cleaning it is necessary to clean your carpet regularly to remove the washable dirt that vacuums don't get out. This dirt comes from vapors from cooking, air pollution from outside, and tracked-in dirt. The particles of washable dirt deposited on your carpet can cause the colours to appear dull and faded. The color isn't gone, but it is buried under the film of dirt. If this type of dirt is allowed to build it begins to attract the dry dirt. Removing this dirt in a regular routine of washing your carpet will maintain your carpet beauty for many years. You will be able to enjoy this elegance far beyond any life expectation you may have for your carpet.
