Clean Carpets Last Longer

There are many things you can do to both keep your carpet looking good and help it last longer.  For example, sand has sharp edges that can abrade and cut the strands that make up the fiber tufts, thus reducing the lifespan of your carpet.  Your carpet is an investment in your comfort (and health!) that, having spent the money, you will want to take care of so it will last as long as possible, while still looking good.

Here are some tips for you.

1) Put two door mats in place. One goes on the outside of the door, the other goes on the inside. Most of the soils that we bring into our homes is tracked in on our shoes. It comes from greasy oily grocery store parking lots, from the yard and from all the other places our shoes take us. So putting 2 doormats in place encourages that soil to be brushed off on the mats – which are easily cleaned – and not your carpet.

2) Invest in a vacuum with a good ‘beater’ and vacuum regularly. The beater brush agitates the carpet, releasing soils that may be lightly sticking to the fibers. Experts tell us that around 75% of the soils in carpeting is “non-soluble”, meaning it won’t dissolve in water. It is much easier to vacuum up dry insoluble soils, than when it is wet and becomes mud. If you are having your carpets professionally cleaned, it is a great idea to use your beater brush vacuum to get as much of this insoluble soil before the carpet cleaner arrives. He or she will do a better job because of it. Your carpet will look better, longer for it.

Change the bag, or empty the container for a bag-less vacuum when it is ½ full. If it is the bagless type, be sure and clean the filter after every use. The machine will work better and there will be less dust in your home after vacuuming.

Pets are family!

3) Pet urine: Get a black light and use it to locate spots. If they are still wet, use an old towel blot up as much urine as possible. Although pet urine is usually mildly acidic initially, it will change after a couple of hours to ammonia, which has a very high ph, making it a powerfully alkaline substance. Such a high ph can cause a leaching of red and blue dyes from the fibers, resulting in a carpet stain that looks yellow. This type of ‘stain’ is permanent and cannot be fixed by anything short of re-dying the fibers.

4) Have your carpets cleaned by a professional once per year. A good professional cleaning removes sand and other hard, insoluble soils that have sharp edges that can literally ‘cut’ individual fiber strands, thus causing more rapid wear and tear on the fibers, and giving your carpet a ‘fuzzy’ look.