How To Care For Your Carpet
By Alan J Fletcher -
Carpet Expert and Consumer Advocate
How often should I have my Carpets Cleaned?
You
must follow your carpet manufacturer's carpet cleaning guidelines to the
letter if you want to keep you carpet warranty in force. You should hire a
professional to clean your carpets every 12 to 18 months. Keep the sales
receipts! Read your carpet warranty and follow the carpet maintenance
suggestions to the letter. This is how you can make sure your carpet
lasts as long as possible!
A
Typical New Carpet Warranty Requires You...
Make sure you know which warranties apply to your
particular carpet. Warranties are usually posted on the backs of samples in the
store at the time of purchase. It is your responsibility to know which
warranties apply to your specific carpet.
To File a Claim: You must notify your
carpet dealer in writing; describe the specific problem and include a copy
of your sales invoice. Your dealer will notify the carpet manufacturer if
necessary.
Have you ever read a complete
manufacturer's carpet warranty? It's an eye opening experience! Every
manufacturer has their carpet warranty worded a little bit different so be
sure to read the full warranty for the carpet you are considering buying.
Here is a link to a Mohawk
Carpet Warranty.
Why
Hire a Certified Carpet Cleaner?
Not
all carpet cleaning companies are created equal. Some are definitely more
reputable than others and homeowners need to be careful who they hire. Costs
can vary greatly and hiring the company with the lowest price may not be the
smartest way to go. Watch out for carpet cleaning companies that have low-cost specials that
sound too good to be true.
You don't want to hire a
inexperienced carpet cleaner that will do more damage than good. Excessive
soaking of the carpet and padding can ruin any carpet and cause mold and
mildew to form if the carpet takes too long to dry. A bad carpet cleaning job can easily void your carpet
warranty and ruin even the most expensive carpets!
Certification
There
are several well known non-profit organizations that establish and maintain
industry standards. Reputable carpet dealers receive ongoing education and
training, earn certification and agree to follow honest business practices;
use top quality cleaning products and equipment and follow a published code of
ethics. You never want to hire a fly-by-night carpet cleaner!
The two organizations I trust are; The
Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), and
The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI).
These are their seals of 
approval you should look for when looking for a reputable carpet cleaning
company.
Why is Vacuuming so Important?
Proper
maintenance is the key to keeping your carpet looking like-new longer!
Most
carpets don't wear out, they ugly-out! This is the common description for a
carpet fiber that loses it's shine. Once your carpet fibers lose their shine,
they start to look dull. Then, your new carpet start to look worn out.
Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to make your ugly looking, dull
carpet look like new again. Dirt and grime is one of the key reasons that
carpet fibers lose their shine. The dirt and grime that grind into the carpet
pile is the cause of the loss of carpet shine. Proper maintenance is the
key to keeping your carpet looking like new longer!
How
Often Should I Vacuum My Carpet?
Q.
How many people live in your home? That's
how many times you should vacuum each week, especially in high traffic lanes!
Do
you have four people living in your home? Then you should vacuum your carpet
about four times a week! Some folks need to vacuum everyday! More people means
more vacuuming. This is the minimum you should vacuum per week and more
vacuuming may be necessary if you:
-
Have active teenagers, or active children
under the age of 5
-
Have indoor dogs, cats or elephants,
-
Entertain often, or have teens with
lots of friends,
-
Live in a dusty or rural area, or near
the beach.
-
Have allergies or asthma
-
Live in a moist or humid climate
This
means you should be vacuuming practically everyday. But vacuuming everyday won't help if
you don't have a good quality vacuum or if your vacuum is not operating at
it's peak efficiency. If your vacuum is not doing a good enough job, the dirt
that penetrates the nap of your carpet will begin grinding away at the fibers.
This leads to dulling of the color and matting and crushing of the pile, which
in turn makes your carpet look worn out faster. And once your carpet starts
looking dingy, nothing can be done to make it regain it's original like-new
appearance.
There's
more to maintaining your carpet than just dealing with the problem of grit, dirt and
dust penetrating the nap of your carpet, small children and active teens can
significantly increase the daily wear and tear on your carpets. Running,
jumping, dancing, playing and other common activities are very damaging to carpet.
Rigorous activities force dirt and debris deep into the nap, often too deep
for some older or less-powerful vacuums to remove. This is why having a good
quality vacuum with enough suction power is so important.
Abrasion
is also a main cause of carpet wear. You can see the effects of abrasion most
obvious on stairs, down the hallways or other high traffic traffic lanes. Carpet fibers can only
tolerate a certain amount of abrasion before they show the effects. While
diligent vacuuming won't undo damage caused by active kids, it will help
reduce the damaging effects by removing the majority of gritty sand-like dirt
and debris.
