Heather says:The basics of carpet care are pretty standard. However, it is important to adhere to your manufacturer’s recommendations or you run the risk of voiding the warranty and who wants to do that?
Dirt, even dirt that doesn’t stain damages your carpet by weakening the fibers through friction. Walking on your carpeting causes crush damage – this is part of the reason why quality carpet padding is so important, it cushions the fibers so they can handle more foot traffic.
How do you keep your carpet looking great for years?
You keep your carpet clean.
So let’s start with vacuuming.
Vacuuming sounds easy enough, but we all know some people need vacuuming instructions spelled out clearly.
Adjust the height of the head of your vacuum so that the beater bar agitates the carpet fibers a couple of inches away from the head, but not so low that it becomes hard to push. The beater bar loosens the dirt and the suction and brushes whisk the dirt into the canister or bag. When vacuuming a room follow the whole top to bottom left to right mantra we discuss so often around here. Why? It gives you a place to start. If you don’t want to do it this way, just make sure that you vacuum the entire room with short, overlapping strokes.
Pay attention to high traffic areas, when you are vacuuming carpeting that has the potential to receive a lot of crush damage, vacuum against the general traffic flow. Use the vacuum to basically fluff up the fibers.
I didn’t write this rule, talk to the carpet manufacturers if it bothers you.
Carpeting should be, at minimum, vacuumed thoroughly on a weekly basis. Busy households with kids and pets should add one quick vacuuming of high traffic areas to their weekly vacuuming for each household member, including large dogs. A household with two adults and two kids -who are home most of the time- would probably need to vacuum four times a week.
Now go ahead take into account if you aren’t ever home. If you have six people but pretty much live out of your mini-van know that you don’t have to vacuum six days a week.
Sorry. Having kids and pets means more responsibilities. As soon as you can teach your children to vacuum and make them take over at least the quick vacuuming.
Now to your actual question, what about professional steam cleaning?
Steam cleaning should be done no more than twice a year, unless your warranty states otherwise. You can rent a carpet cleaning machine from local hardware and grocery stores, but – and this is especially important for those of us who live in humid climates- professional carpet cleaners have the ability to extract more water from the carpet and pad. Your carpet and padding will dry faster and probably be left cleaner than when steam cleaned by a poorly maintained rental unit.
If you have builder’s grade carpet, nothing is going to save it. Go ahead and use the rental machine and know that builder’s grade carpeting has a very short lifespan no matter how carefully you care for it.
If you have invested in quality carpeting and good padding, protect your investment by using a professional carpet cleaner.
Between carpet steam cleanings, spot clean carpeting and always, always, always make sure that the carpet and padding are dried thoroughly. Do not close the room, keep the windows open or run a box fan and allow the air to circulate. Mold and mildew in the carpeting are far worse than a little staining.
Carpet Cleaning Excellence provides our customers in Southeastern Michigan with over 25 years in expert service in carpet cleaning and stain removal. Call today for your free no-obligation inspection. 888-688-0603