Regular Carpet Cleaning For Healthier Home

Carpet is often found in high traffic areas, such as bedrooms, living rooms and finished basements simply because it's the most invisibly durable type of floor covering. If you have children, carpet is always the wiser choice as it creates a slip-free surface and an artificial padding for wild kids. The carpet not only cushions your feet, but it can also soften the acoustics of the room, making for less echoes and noise.

Even though it's durable, since carpet is used in high traffic rooms, it still needs to be well preserved in order for it to last. Understanding and completing basic carpet maintenance is the only way to ensure clean, safe and beautiful carpeted floors for many years, leading to a healthier environment in your home.

Carpet Cleaning and Damage Prevention

The best way to keep your carpets clean is by eliminating the source of the grime and dirt that infiltrate the fibers. Put down mats in entryways and exits. Use decorative rugs on the carpeted areas to help protect them form excessive dirt and dust build-up. Rearrange your furniture from time to time so that permanent indentations aren't left in your carpet. When selecting the carpet pad, know that thicker pads may feel softer, but padding density is the key for a carpet with a longer life expectancy. Also, think about the choice of color since medium colors can mask dirt and lighter colors are able to hide fading over time.

Weekly Carpet Maintenance

Simple vacuuming will help keep your carpets clean. It's often recommended that you vacuum every other day, depending on how your carpet is used, but twice a week should do the trick. Whether it's weekly vacuuming or annual steam cleaning, you need to know that inactivity doesn't excuse your carpet maintenance schedule. Even homeowners who require guests to take off shoes and keep kids and pets off the carpet, must still complete a basic cleaning schedule to remove dirt particles that can dig into and cut down fibers, destroying the carpet's durability.

Spot Maintenance

Your carpet is so comfortable because of its soft cushion, but this also means that it's very absorbent as well. Spots ans stains will eventually occur and just because the carpet is stain-resistant doesn't mean the spot can be ignored. This resistance simply buys you time for purposes of thorough clean-up. There are several cleaning techniques out there depending on the type of stains, each with pros and cons:

- Dry powder: cheap and easy, good for overall greasy stains. Just apply the dry powder over the stain, let it absorb the oils and grease, and then vacuum. For heavier stains this may not work and you'll need a vacuum strong enough to grab all the powder off the carpet.

- Solvents: for ink, marker or oil stains. Always remember to blot and not to rub. Let the solvent sit for half an hour and then remove it with soapy water. For pet stains you may need to find an enzyme remover.

- Specific stains: blot wine stains with club soda for proper removal. Use a solution of peroxide and water for other red dyes. Rinse with a solution of vinegar and water. Spray shaving cream on food stains, allow it to sit and remove it with water and vinegar solution.

Efficient Carpet Cleaning

Professional carpet cleaning is the most appropriate way to give your carpets the cleaning they deserve. Licensed carpet cleaners are the only people who have the proper truck-mounted equipment to get the job done right. They use powerful hot water extraction that goes beyond the carpet, cleaning the padding and backing for a more comprehensive clean-up.

Though your carpet takes some caring for, the actual cleaning methods are simple and easy to perform as long as you follow your contractor's advice after the install. Overall, make sure you get to the stains as fast as possible and perform your daily cleaning. Keep in mind that no matter how much you preserve your flooring, repair may be needed in the future. Always remember that the end result is well worth the effort. The safer and cleaner your carpets remain, the longer they last and more comfortable they become, the healthier and enjoyable your home will be.