There are several factors that go into this equation. But, the short answer is a carpet with average traffic should be cleaned once a year.
Now, let’s look at some factors that might change that:
- Do you have allergies? Pollen can get trapped in the fibers and require more frequent cleaning. The more you vacuum the less you need to clean. Most of the soil in the carpet is dry soil and the vacuum can get that very well. Applying a carpet protector can also help with the vacuuming. Protectors will coat the fibers making them smooth again, therefore allowing the vacuum to pick up more dry soil. As I mentioned earlier, protectors coat the fibers, therefore they will wear before the carpets before the carpets protecting the longevity of your flooring investment.
- Do you have above average traffic? Especially Like anything else that gets used. The more you use it the more maintenance it will require. If the oil change interval on your car is every 3000 miles, and you drive 10 miles a day, you would change your oil half as often as someone who drives 20 miles a day. Similarly the same goes for carpet Master bedrooms, upstairs hallways and stairs get the most use. According to the most cleaned areas in our clients homes, these areas require the most maintenance. Especially if there are young children that love to come into bed with mommy and daddy on a Saturday and Sunday morning. I know I did. All these factors contribute to a shortened cleaning interval.
- Do you have light colored carpets? Did you ever wear a snow white pants, or blouse? You can almost never get second wearing out of these. The same goes for light colored carpet. Soil is usually dark in color. Light color carpets do not shadow the dark color of soil as well as dark carpets. While dark carpets will get just as soiled as light carpets, sometimes you can get a little longer cleaning interval with dark carpet. Remember soil will shorten carpet life so just because your carpet may not show soiling, don’t miss a cleaning interval.
- Do you have pets that walk on the carpet? Never mind that pets drag in the mud from outside, they have body oils that transfer to the carpet. We wear clothing, the clothes we wear absorb our body oil. Pets run around in the buff. Their body oil is absorbed in the fabric they lay on. Weather this is carpet or upholstery, this body oil transfer is unavoidable.
- Do you have someone who smokes in the house? That odor can be tough to get out. We don’t see much of this anymore, as most people have quit smoking or have taken their smoking out of the home. Smoke odor gets into the pores of everything. Smoke settles and gets into the knap of the carpets and the fabric of upholstery even the pores of the paint. Because it is a penetrating odor it can also get into the padding of carpet or the cushions of upholstery. Once again, cleaning is your best defense to combat smoke odors. Usually the use of a specially formulated smoke odor counteracting deodorizer fixes the problem.
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