Keeping your living space clean is one of the most effective ways to live a healthy life. Even in a commercial setting, keeping the work environment clean is critical for the well-being of employers, employees, and customers.
To keep your home, office, or commercial space truly clean and healthy, you have to pay attention to carpets. A carpeted floor has the tendency to become filthier than the eyes can see. Dirty carpeting can compromise the quality of your living space or work environment. It can even be a major source of indoor air pollutants.
How often should you clean your carpet to keep your family safe and healthy? How often should you use a carpet cleaner? And how often should you have your carpet professionally cleaned?
There are different approaches to cleaning a carpet. Here, we will discuss how best to clean and take care of your carpets to keep your home healthy. We will answer some of the most important questions homeowners and businesses ask about carpet cleaning, as well.
Different Approaches to Carpet Cleaning affect Frequency
There are many ways to clean a carpet, but we can generalize them into three categories as follows:
Vacuuming
Using a vacuum cleaner to remove dirt is the first thing most people think of when we discuss carpet cleaning. This is primarily because vacuuming is the first line of defense against dirty and stained carpets.
Vacuuming should be done regularly to keep the carpet clean and also prolong its lifespan. There are different types of vacuums, and it is crucial that you buy the right one for your carpet. A vacuum with a HEPA filter is the best for proper cleaning.
You also need to vacuum the right way to achieve the best results. Move the vacuum cleaner gently back and forth while you work. Proper vacuuming will remove loose dirt before it becomes engrained into the carpet’s fabric.
Vacuuming should be done at least twice a week. However, is it bad to vacuum your carpet every day? Not really – but we will get to that later.
Spot Cleaning
Sometimes, it is important to spot clean your carpet immediately before it gets stained. You shouldn’t wait for days to clean spilled wine or trampled mud from the carpet.
Allowing stubborn stains/dirt to linger on a carpet can ruin it and possibly void its warranty. Therefore, spot cleaning should be done immediately when a potential stain is noticed.
Professional Cleaning
Professional carpet cleaning is key to keeping your home, office, or commercial property in top hygienic condition. It is also the only way to keep your carpet looking great for years to come. Professional carpet cleaning is important for prolonging the lifespan of your carpet.
Professional cleaning involves the use of commercial-grade carpet cleaner solutions and truck mounted equipment. Look for IICRC trained and experienced carpet cleaning technicians who use a hot water extraction or steam cleaning process.
So how often should you have your carpet professionally cleaned? Experts recommend professional carpet cleaning at least once a year. You can also have your carpets cleaned more often, depending on the factors below.
Factors that Determine how Often to Clean a Carpet
The frequency of carpet cleaning should be determined by a number of factors, including the following:
Traffic on Your Carpet
The more traffic your carpet receives, the more often you should clean.
Young Children At Home
If you have small children at home, then you’ll need to vacuum and spot-clean more frequently.
The Presence of Furry Pets
Cat, dogs, and other pets with fur contribute significantly to dirt and dander on carpets. If you have pets at home, then you have to vacuum and clean your carpets more than usual.
Wearing Of Shoes Indoors
In an indoor setting where the wearing of shoes is allowed (commercial facilities, offices, and parts of the home), carpet cleaning should be performed often.
Smoking Indoors
If you or anyone else smokes in an indoor space, you have to clean the carpets regularly.
Accommodating People with Allergies
If someone in your home, office, or any indoor setting suffers from allergies, you’ll have to do more cleaning to remove allergens from carpets.
The Color of Your Carpet
Light-colored carpets need to be cleaned more regularly, or they will look filthy.
Warranty Requirement
Some carpet manufacturers require their customers to follow a certain cleaning routine, or you may risk voiding the warranty. If this is the case with your carpet, follow it religiously.
Important Tips for Cleaning Your Carpet
Cleaning your carpet frequently is one way to keep it in clean and healthy condition. You also need to clean the right way to achieve the results you want. Here are a few tips for proper carpet cleaning:
- Use the right vacuum and carpet cleaners for the carpet material
- Steam clean your carpet from time to time, depending on the factors highlighted above.
- Take the time to vacuum a carpet thoroughly before steam cleaning.
- To avoid discoloration, do not over-wet or shampoo your carpet.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning schedule
- Do not place furniture on wet carpets
- Embrace measures that minimize dirt and stains on carpets (like avoiding smoking indoors, wearing shoes indoors, and working/playing with potentially stain-causing substances like wine and paints on carpets).
- Never underestimate the importance of professional carpet cleaning.
Is Professional Carpet Cleaning Important?
Vacuuming your carpets often and spot-cleaning as soon as you notice potentially stubborn stains can keep your carpet clean. However, these practices are not enough to keep the carpet in top condition for years. Wet-vacuuming and shampooing can also be very helpful, but they may not be sufficient.
To keep your carpet and entire indoor space clean and healthy, professional carpet cleaning is important. You need to call in the experts from time to time to deep-clean your carpet or rug. Depending on the factors we highlighted earlier, this should be done at least once a year in regular homes. For homes and commercial locations with lots of traffic, it should be done twice a year.
Major Benefits of Professional Carpet Cleaning
Professional carpet cleaning offers several benefits. We’ve hinted at these benefits throughout, but we will highlight them below for emphasis. Professional cleaning:
- Penetrates deeply to remove stains and dirt
- Helps your carpet maintain its luster
- Significantly improve your indoor air quality
- Offers health benefits and protects people with allergies, asthma, and similar conditions
- Helps to keep your carpet warranty intact.
Get the Best Professional Carpet Cleaning Service
We can never overemphasize the importance of keeping your carpets clean. Here, we have discussed the best carpet cleaning practices. We hope this helps you make the right decisions regarding cleaning your carpet.
Professional carpet cleaning is important for your home, office, or commercial setting. Regardless of the nature, size, and condition of your carpet, Carpet Tech will give it the professional touch it needs to look clean and promote a healthy environment.
Do you need the best professional carpet cleaning services? Contact us to get started.