Protecting your flooring investment and maintaining your carpet will promote a healthy, clean indoor environment. Here are a few quick and simple ways to keep your carpet and flooring up to par.
- Vacuum your carpet regularly, especially in high traffic areas. Approximately 75 percent of soil in carpet is dry and can be removed with the vacuum cleaner.
- Use a vacuum with a beater bar that is set to the correct height for your carpet pile. If the setting is too high for your carpet, you may not be removing much soil. If it's too low, your carpet will take a beating. Changing the direction of the vacuum cleaner frequently will make vacuuming more effective. Regular vacuuming will improve the overall appearance of the carpet and protect your investment.
- Change the vacuum bag for goodness sakes. A vacuum cleaner can plug up and lose most of its efficiency just by allowing the bag to become too full. Most bags will have a line about one-third from the top. You should not allow the bag to fill above this line before changing it.
- Have your carpet professionally cleaned on a regular schedule. Most of the large carpet manufacturers suggest having the carpet cleaned every 12 to 18 months. The frequency will depend on factors such as: number of pets in the home, number of children in the home, and the level of traffic that the carpet receives. If you have newer carpet be sure to read your warranty. Many of the carpet manufactures are starting to specify how often you must get it cleaned in order to maintain its warranty. Many also state that the cleaning must be performed by an IICRC certified cleaning company.
- Deal with the spills and spots as soon as possible. Proper spotting technique goes beyond the scope of this article, but when in doubt stay away from harsh over-the-counter cleaners which can sometimes set the stains and create a more permanent headache.
- Use entrance or walk-off mats in each of the homes outsides doorways. This will significantly reduce the amount of soil that is tracked into your home. The larger they are the more effective they will be. Don't forget, you must clean these mats regularly as well.
- Reapply Protective Coating Regularly. Most carpet gets a protective coating applied to it during the manufacturing process. The purpose of this coating is to give it some stain resistance. Over time this coating will out due to factors such as: foot traffic, furniture, pets, spills and cleanings. If your long-term goal is to keep your carpet looking its best, it is important to have this coating reapplied on a regular interval.
- Avoiding soil filtration stains. Have you ever been in a home that had dark stains in the door ways of rooms and/or around the baseboards? These are usually known as filtration stains and are caused by air rushing through the carpet fibers and leaving behind some stuff that is floating around in it. The carpet in these areas is simply working as an air filter, collecting the oil, smoke, dirt, dust and anything else that may in it. One of the best ways to help minimize this problem is to make a practice of keeping the internal doors open. This helps to equalize the air pressure through-out the house and slow down the air movement in these areas.
- Avoid walking on the carpet with dirty shoes and even bare feet. Walking on the carpet with clean socks is one of the best ways to keep it dirt and oil free.
- Keep the pets off the carpet. Look, I love pets but they are one of the main culprits when it comes to causing carpet stains and odors. Samson Rollins is an owner of RoyaltyServicesGroup. The Carpet Cleaning experts located in Northern Utah. RoyaltyServicesGroup Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samson_Rollins