I could barely sleep last night as I was thinking about writing this article (of course, it could have been the neighbor's stupid dog barking all night). Having been a professional carpet cleaner since 1975, my articles are always dedicated to "telling it like it is." It's amazing how all carpet looks so nice and fresh when first installed, and then 10 years later can still look like its brand new. Or it can look like it's been the stomping grounds for the Walking Dead! This is information I'd suggest you read now, and then keep handy for reference for the future cleaning needs of your carpet.
Regular and proper cleaning maintenance may cost a little more than neglecting a carpet, but in the long run, the investment will save you a lot of money. Now some of the things I'll mention here will seem obvious, and some you might not believe. But first, let's visit the dentist...
https://www.wikipedia.org
The dentist tells you to brush, floss and come visit the hygienist on a regular basis. If you follow these directions, you get to keep all of your teeth for life! What does that have to do with carpet? I suggest this: vacuum your carpet regularly in the proper way using a good vacuum (see my cool article on vacuuming), and then have it PROFESSIONALLY cleaned by a professional cleaner. I know that last part sounds redundant, but it's not. Just because a professional cleaner charges money for cleaning doesn't mean they do a professional job. But first, let's discuss the vacuuming.
Vacuuming is such an important part of the long life of your carpet, that even though I have a separate article just on proper vacuuming, I need to revisit some of the same information.
When you get sand and soil particles in the carpet, these little particulates have sharp edges that can cut into the surface of the filaments when walked on. When the filaments start getting scratched up enough, the traffic areas start looking "dirty." It's not dirt though, it's actually abrasion. And I'm sorry, even if you had the best carpet cleaner in the country (uh, that's me) clean your traffic areas, the abrasion is permanent. In fact, here's a little carpet inspector secret: to find out if your traffic areas that look dirty are really dirty, or if they have abrasion, take a bright light (at least 200 watts) and hold it directly over the traffic area you're inspecting. If the "dirt" is actually dirt, you'll see it even easier. However, if it's abrasion, you won't see it. So you can either hang bright lights over all of your traffic areas all the time to hide the abrasion, or you can vacuum them correctly from the start.
Of course, vacuuming frequency can vary between a main hall and a seldom-used guest bedroom. You can never vacuum too often, but you can definitely vacuum too seldom if you aren't diligent. There are two things you're after when you vacuum, even though you can't see them. One is airborne particulate that settles into the carpet or is filtered by the carpet as the air moves through the home. The second are the inevitable dust mites that even you have in your home right now. These microscopic beasts live in everybody's furnishings but can be somewhat controlled with regular and thorough vacuuming. Therefore, regular and thorough vacuuming is one of the two most important parts of maintaining your new carpet. Again, this is like brushing and flossing your teeth once or twice a day that I know you do. Right?
But still, every 6 to 12 months the dentist wants to have us visit the hygienist. Why? All the hygienist does is dig and poke around in my mouth! Nevertheless, she is getting past my flossing and brushing efforts, right down to the gums (and further). Now, this is where carpet cleaners are better than hygienists. The hygienist hurts you and makes you bleed, then makes you pay for it. We carpet cleaners don't hurt you at all; we just make you pay for it. What a deal!
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So how often does the carpet need to be professionally cleaned? Glad you asked! Some of the carpet manufacturers are suggesting a minimum of every 12 months, if not more often. Some have even required this on the warranty, but I've never seen that enforced. I would suggest every 6 to 12 months, depending on the usage. An elderly couple without much in the way of visitors, or owners of a seldom used vacation home tend to need less cleaning. On the other hand, a home like mine requires professional cleaning more than every 6 months! (My wife always denies it, but our carpet is cleaned at least every 3 months. And you know what? What I really want to do is put a metal floor in our house with big holes in it, and once a week just hose it down. With the kids standing in the middle to get them hosed down too. Wouldn't that be great!? Oh rats, my wife is shaking her head at me with a stern look on her beautiful face.)
This is where you may think that I'm going over the top, but let me say, without any hesitation, that I'm also firmly convinced you should start getting your new carpet cleaned 6 months after installation. Now hold on, let me cover one of the all time classic "wives' tale" about carpet and cleaning: WAIT A WHILE BEFORE THE FIRST CLEANING, BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT GETS DIRTY FASTER. Right? We've all heard that. And like most myths, it's based on some truth.
Back in the 1960's, when carpet was first cleaned professionally, the only method available was shampooing. The guy would come in with his rotary scrubber, squirt shampoo on the carpet, scrub it in and then leave. He left instructions to wait until it was dry, then you were to vacuum it. The PH of the shampoo used back then was high. PH refers to how acidic or alkaline a liquid is. For example, water is 7, which is neutral. When the carpet dried and was vacuumed, a lot of the shampoo would stay in the carpet. This shampoo then acted as a magnet and would quickly pull dirt to itself from foot traffic. Can you guess what happened? The carpet would get dirty fast! Even when hot water extraction came out (steam cleaning), the cleaning solutions were also very alkaline and attracted dirt to the carpet quickly. Nowadays, the solutions that carpet cleaners use (even the shampoos) DON'T attract dirt. My cleaning company, like many, uses a solution that has a 7.5 PH, or close to that. It's slightly alkaline only because soil tends to be slightly acidic, thereby leaving a neutral solution to dry out of the carpet. But here's what still happens now because of the old myth. You wait until your carpet looks really dirty before getting it cleaned for the first time. Well, the carpet is kind of like a wastebasket, except that it fills up with dirt from the top down, instead the bottom up. So if a professional cleaner can come in and clean before the carpet is totally full, a much higher percentage, if not all, of the dirt can be removed. But if you wait until the carpet is completely full of soil, then even the best cleaner in the country (that's right, me again) can't get it all out. But here's the trick-it'll LOOK clean. However, since there's still soil in the carpet, guess what? The carpet gets "full" sooner, and seems to get dirty faster! Basically this myth becomes self-fulfilling.
I'm sorry to belabor this, but I find it hard to convince people of this truth. My absolute suggestion is to start getting your new carpet cleaned 6 to 12 months after it's installed, and to keep doing that consistently.
How do you find a good cleaner (if you don't happen to live in Moses Lake or the Tri-Cities, WA!)? Well, first of all, I'm not going to bore you with different methods of cleaning that the pros use. I personally use a truck-mounted hot water extraction system (steam cleaning) that I love. I have hundreds of clients that love it. There's also a shampooing method which some cleaners still use. Bonnet cleaning, which uses low moisture, is common and is sometimes called "dry" cleaning. What I have observed is that there are operators using these methods with very satisfied clients, and other operators using these same methods that get lots of complaints and have a tough time. The equipment used is only a percentage of the equation; the other and perhaps bigger part is the person operating the equipment. So that didn't answer your question, did it?
There are also cleaner associations like the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration) ASCR (Association of Specialists in Cleaning & Restoration), and the NCCA (National Carpet Cleaners Association), which offer technician training and certification. If you're considering a cleaner that has one or more ratings from an organization like this, then you have a better chance of getting a good job. But really, having a label sewn on their sleeve or certification card in their wallet still doesn't guarantee what kind of work ethic or level of professionalism they will bring into your home. Hmm, that's still no answer.
ASK FOR REFERENCES AND THEN CALL THEM. You just can't beat this idea. If cleaners are vague with references, it's either because they're new to your town, or because they aren't sure they really want you calling any past customers. (Asking for references is a very good idea with installers as well.) If the cleaner has been in town for a while, they should be able to give some of your neighbors as references. This is the absolute best way to minimize problems and maximize your cleaning dollars.
I wanted to mention rental machines that are available at most grocery stores and other various places. These are not a bad idea for in between professional cleanings, but they just don't compare otherwise. A couple of technical measurements: a rental steam cleaning machine has a PSI of between 15 - 60. That's the pressure the water is shot into the carpet at. On our truckmount, we set the pressure between 350 and 400 PSI. The vacuum ability is measured in inches of water lift, and the flow is cubic feet per minute. On a rental machine, these are between 20 and 35 inches and the airflow is unimpressive. Our truckmount has about 200 inches of water lift and 250 CFM of airflow. A truckmount has about 4 or 5 times the cleaning ability of a rental. Also, with most rental machines, you use the hot water out of your faucet which might be 160 to 180 F, so by the time it hits the carpet it's down to 120 or 130 degrees or less. Our truckmount heats the water to 205 degrees, and by the time it hits the carpet it's only down to about 180 to 200 degrees depending on the season. Keep in mind that the cleaning ability of the water doubles for every 10 degrees hotter the water is. So although a rental machine can be helpful, it does not replace a regular professional cleaning. It might be like trying to clean your own teeth with an ultrasonic cleaner and dental pick. If I tried that I'd probably end up with broken teeth and holes in my cheeks. (Hey, that rhymes I think!)
Two last things. Without getting into details, carpet protectors are generally a good idea, especially for high traffic areas. They not only can reduce resoiling but actually inhibit the carpet fibers from getting abraded.
Second, spots happen. How to properly deal with them is also a rather lengthy subject that I will cover in another article soon, so don't spill anything just yet!
To summarize; if you invest some time and money into the care of your carpet, you will save a lot of money by not having to replace it as often, and your home will be healthier (and so will your family) by having a clean carpet and a resulting clean indoor air quality.
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