Carpet Care & Cleaning

Most manufacturers recommend professional cleaning of rugs and carpets at least once a year. If your carpets get unusually soiled or you have a greater than average amount of foot traffic, cleaning every six-months may be necessary.

Professional carpet cleaning can extend the life of your carpets and rugs. Although excessive cleaning may have the opposite effect. Equally important though is regular vacuuming. Vacuuming not only removes dirt, it helps to restore carpet fibers.

Home carpet cleaning machines may be useful in maintaining a carpet. However, they have limitations. First, excessive use will shorten your carpet's life span. Secondly, if they do not use warm water, they may not be sufficiently effective to warrant the wear and stress they put on a carpet. Finally, if they do not thoroughly extract the water used to clean the carpet, the moisture will soak into the backing and pad, which may lead to accelerated deterioration and possibly to the development of mold.

Professional cleaning equipment is more powerful than cleaners designed for home use. Professional rigs use warm water, combined with cleaning agents to, to loosen dirt and soil and then use powerful vacuum force to extract the water and dirt. However,as stated earlier, excessive use of professional cleaning equipment can also shorten the life span of a carpet. Therefore, they should be used annually, except harsh conditions demand more frequent use.

For cleaning of spills and stains, please see our article on that topic.