WHILE REGULAR carpet cleaning by professionals is necessary to ensure your carpet leads a long and healthy life, additional care and maintenance on your part can go a long way.
Proper care and maintenance of your carpet will extend its useful life and preserve its appearance longer. Failure to maintain proper care will result in premature wear. Additionally, clean carpets contribute to a healthy indoor environment.
1. Over time, the resistance of stain-resistant carpet wears down. For optimum performance, have a protector regularly applied after cleaning.
2. Stain-resistant does not mean stain-proof. Be sure to act immediately to prevent spots and spills from causing permanent damage.
3. Your furniture collects everyday dirt and soil just like your carpet. For convenience, have both professionally cleaned at the same time.
4. Vacuum frequently and thoroughly. Most of the wear of carpeting is caused by dirt.
5. Get at stains quickly, 99% of all stains can be removed by one cleaning agent or another if they are cleaned in the first few days. The longer a stain chemically reacts with the carpet the harder it will be to remove it.
6. Test carpet before scrubbing, extracting or spotting. All carpets are different.
7. Some carpets are very sensitive to acid type cleaners and will lose their colour quickly. Other carpet dyes are sensitive to harsh alkalis.
8. Do not overuse detergents, shampoos or spotters. Too much detergent will result in residual left in the carpet that even thorough vacuuming may not remove.
9. Vacuum frequently and thoroughly. It is so important it deserves two recommendations.
The normal hustle and bustle of everyday life can take its toll on your carpet. To keep yours looking its best between professional cleanings, vacuum heavy traffic areas two to three times a week, and the rest of your carpet once a week.
Using indoor and outdoor mats at each entrance can reduce the amount of dirt tracked into your home. Be sure to clean these periodically to ensure their utmost effectiveness.
Like all textiles, carpets will eventually show signs of wear. The wear creates an illusion of soiling, which often causes frustration and misunderstanding between the homeowners and carpet care experts.
Even though a carpet has been cleaned, it does not mean the traffic areas will look clean. Traffic areas are those places where people are constantly walking or working. This situation creates what is called “Traffic Lane Grey”.
While “Traffic Lane Grey” is an inevitable part of any carpet’s life, the process causing it can be slowed down. One way to prevent this is to rearrange the furniture in your home. By doing so, you will block old traffic areas and create new ones.
By occasionally switching the flow of traffic you will distribute the effects of “Traffic Lane Gray”. You can also add area rugs to places where “Traffic Lane Gray” is unavoidable through rearranging furniture.
The amount of traffic your carpet receives will determine how often vacuuming is necessary. Vacuuming a few times per week reduces the dirt that is likely to end up in the roots of your carpet.
