This hotly debated question is as old as time — HOW OFTEN?
Carpet cleaning is one of the easiest item you can do to ensure the long term value of your flooring, you’ll need to follow just a few simple maintenance items. Many of us spend significant amounts of money to put beautiful carpet & flooring in our homes, so make sure to care property for your investment! Here’s a few quick tips and ideas:
1) Vacuum weekly or sooner — vacuuming & extracting out the dirt that is tracked into your carpet is your first line of defense in caring for your carpeting investment. Weekly is a great rule of thumb. Sooner if you have a busy, active or large household, especially if you’re talking multiple kids and pets. Also make sure to use the crevice tool on your vacuum at least once a month. The edges of your rooms and stairs hold excess dirt. The crevice tool was made for a reason & this is it! If we don’t pay attention to the edges, you’ll eventually see gray or darker edges where the dust and dirt has permanently damaged the carpet fiber. Vacuum, vacuum well & vacuum often. It’s the BEST line of defense for your carpet investment
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2) Spot clean — regular spot cleaning can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in future cleaning or replacement cost. Unfortunately we don’t know when each stain happens, but as soon as you see anything make sure to use a good spot cleaner (not Resolve or Oxy that could bleach your fiber) that is alkaline or enzyme based. Many of your grandmother and mothers remedies work well too — example, club soda or vinegar! Don’t introduce toxic chemicals to your environment unnecessarily. For most stain issues, just add a small amount of spot cleaner to your stain, tap it with a brush, give it dwell time of 5-10 minutes, apply a white towel over the top and add pressure to pull the stain up into the towel. You can even stand on that towel to add your weight to it:)! Repeat as needed. Scrubbing the stains does not help. You want to keep the stain as close to the top of the fiber as possible. If you have tough stains that require a pro, make the call. The value of your home is worth it. Also remember that continuous spot cleaning with home machines is not a problem, however, you’ll need to make sure you do a regular professional clean that can pull out, or extract, all that product you’ve placed into the fiber. Truck mounted engines will have the power to get out what home units cannot.
3) And finally, schedule regular professional cleaning — most homes can wait 9-12 months for a professional cleaning. However, if you have an active household (especially with multiple kids or pets!), you’ll find that 6 months may be more appropriate. You can alleviate some of the traffic patterns that you see in many homes by cleaning more often.
Here is Myth-busters 101 for floor care: “But, I don’t want to clean my carpet yet! It’ll never look the same!” False! If your cleaning is done with the proper manufacturers recommendation, cleaned at regular intervals, cleaned with straight alkaline (not watered down, or even cleaned with too high a level of PH that your carpet cannot handle) and cleaned with a high power truck mount for strong extraction, you should experience short dry times and see your carpet look it’s best for the condition and years it’s been in your home.
Similar to other maintenance items, waiting is the enemy when it comes to cleaning! The longer you wait between professional cleanings, the more you’ll see that your traffic areas continue to decay. Dirt can be cleaned, however, traffic and wear & tear will always be evident. So the sooner you care for it, the better outcome you’ll have.
There is no big mystery to caring for your flooring — follow these few simple techniques and your carpet will pay you back dividends in years of comfort plus continue to hold it’s value for your home.
We’re always here to answer any specific questions you may have about your floor care — we’re cleaning up Wichita!
Cleaning up Wichita 