Five Easy Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Carpet

1. Check the Warranty

Copies of specific warranties from your carpet purchase may be available from your carpet retailer. Stain resist warranties can vary from 5 to 20 years. ALL STAIN RESIST WARRANTIES REQUIRE REGULAR CLEANING AND IMMEDIATE SPOT REMOVAL.

2. Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum

It is said that the three most important rules for maintaining carpet are vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Vacuuming your carpet often; once or twice a week at least. Vacuuming removes the sharp soil that cut and slices the fiber, causing premature wear. Much of this soil is not visible to the eye. Remove any loose particles such as food, leaves, pieces of crayon, and bugs, as these items can cause a spot on the carpet. Be sure to use a quality vacuum cleaner that is well maintained. If you have any questions about what type of vacuum is best, please ask us.

3. Have Your Carpet Professionally Cleaned Often

Most people don’t clean their carpet often enough, perhaps due to the cost or the hassle factor, or because they do not realize how important regular professional cleaning can be. For example, if your traffic areas are visibly soiled, you have already waited too long! Traffic area soil is somewhat oily and bonds to the carpet fibers, eventually staining the carpet. Once this has taken place, even though professional cleaning will make it look much better, the traffic pattern will still be visible. In addition, traffic area soil is sharp- like sandpaper- and it abrades the carpet fibers. To keep this to a minimum, clean your traffic areas before they look visibly soiled.

As a general rule, professional cleaning by a professional certified firm should be done about once per year. For extremely heavy traffic areas, cleaning may be required more often. Proper professional cleaning will not leave a sticky residue behind and can be done as many times per year as needed. MANY STAIN RESIST WARRANTIES REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL CLEANING EVERY TWO YEARS. Professional cleaning removes the damaging soil that vacuuming has not been able to remove from the traffic areas.

4. Remove Spots Immediately

Spots that are not immediately removed can turn into permanent stains very easily. When a carpet is new or has sufficient protector on it, plain tap water will remove many spots. However, for those spots you can’t remove easily with water, you must use a spot cleaner. Select a spot cleaner recommended by the carpet manufacturer or by your trained, certified professional cleaner. Most spot removers purchased over the counter leave too much soap residue and can cause yellowing. Avoid using foam carpet cleaners or any product not made specifically for carpet.

Apply spot cleaner sparingly to white terry cloth and gently massage the spot, causing it to transfer onto the cloth. Never pour spot cleaner directly on carpet. If the product you are using seems to cause the spot to re-soil over a few-week period, discontinue use. For any spot that you are not able to remove, and for pet urine or feces, call your professional cleaner immediately.

5. Have Carpet Protector Reapplied

Residential nylon stain resistant carpets are treated with stain resist properties and soil resistors known as Dupont, Teflon or 3M Scotchgard. After a period of two or three years, some of the soil resistor wears off. At that point, you should consider having a professional carpet cleaner reapply the protector after the professional cleaning. The soil resistor will help soil slide off the carpet more easily when vacuuming, spots will be easier to remove, and professional cleaning will be more effective.

Unprotected carpet soils faster, doesn’t last as long, and is prone to permanent staining.

To get your carpets professionally cleaned, call J&S Steamway today! 907 349-0911