We love our cars, our patios, our gardens and more, but we seldom appreciate taking care and concern of our carpeting as it may seem trivial. Yet a good deep cleaning can play a huge role in the comfort of your home, as well as the health and quality of life for you, others living with you and anyone who visits.
That’s a pretty big claim to make, but it’s true.
Think about it for a moment. It’s almost everywhere you walk, after all, it can be the most economical choice to cover your floors. Yet that doesn’t mean it’s not an important investment. So shouldn’t you take interest in the well-being of your floors and carpets? Of course you should! A healthy carpet makes a healthy home. Not to mention it can make a home truly look and feel like new again.
And that’s the thing. With proper care and upkeep the life and look of your carpets will go a long way.
And people will notice.
When you have guests over, you’re usually quick to do a final “go-over” with the vacuum, right? But what about those unsightly stains you think are permanent? Is there anything you can do about them?
Carpet Stains are a different problem to tackle.
While many stains can be taken care of so you never see them again, preventative carpet care is always the best for your carpet and home. Proper maintenance of your carpeting will add longevity and years of that “new look” despite the challenges of pet stains, odors and playful young children.
Think about this for a moment. When you have carpets that are discolored from heavy foot traffic, even if only slightly, that can “shrink” a room and cause it to appear smaller.
People don’t often think about it, but your flooring represents your home from the ground up (literally). Visitors to your home (or business) may notice furniture placement, décor, the view and so on. But they always “feel” the look of your carpets.
Always.
“Can clean carpets really make that much of a difference? Is it really that important?”
Sure it is. Think about how good it feels to wash your car. If you’re like most people, then you do it less than you should and only realize how much a difference it makes once you exit the washer. Then you notice how much of a difference it makes—and you feel proud. And rightly so!
Plus it’s better for your car. And so it is with your carpets.
Vacuum Cleaning Your Carpets At Home
“But I do take care of my carpets…I vacuum every week!”
And that’s good. In fact, for higher traffic areas it wouldn’t hurt to do it twice a week. You see, vacuuming on a schedule like that is essential.
Vacuuming your carpets removes “crumbs” of dirt and soil that always manage to find their way in. And in time, it will damage your carpets. Vacuuming keeps up with it by removing the grit and dirt that sneaks in and keeps it at tolerable levels. But that’s mostly for dirt, soil and so on.
When you have kids or pets, or both, you know just what else can color your carpets. And unless you have multi-colored, patchy carpets (you never know), it’s going to show up—a lot.
The Difference Between “Grime” And “Stains”
Loose particles that rest, or sit “easily” on top of your carpets can usually be vacuumed and suctioned up. We’ll just call that grime. But what about other matter like grease? Oils? Mom’s makeup a dog’s mess? Food stains? It’s only natural with time.
Even dirt and common foot traffic can get embedded in the fibers of your carpet, no matter how careful you are. This can reduce the quality, and lead to shorter life carpet life spans.
So what do you do?
When you want to get serious about heavier use and tougher stains so you can feel truly fresh carpet beneath your toes and delight in the sharpness and vividness of your carpets—like when you first moved in—you’ll want to move on to “wet cleaning” methods.
These are cleaning techniques used by most commercial carpet cleaners (but not all). You’ll also find that smaller, more portable steam cleaning units are available for rental and private purchase.
Done right, this can do wonders for your carpets life, vitality and feel. Simply put—it can make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of your home or business.
And if you’ve never done it before (shame on you, but it’s never too late!) you’ll immediately want to invite everyone you know over to see how amazing your home looks. After all, when you have a shiny new car, don’t you like to leave it parked outside in the driveway on a nice day so your neighbors can see it instead of keeping it in the garage?
When it comes to having clean home with beautiful carpets you're proud of, you have two options: You can do it yourself (DIY), or hire a Professional Carpet Cleaner to do it for you.
It is always easy to find someone willing to clean your carpets for you. Even in a small town there are plenty of choices. And in bigger cities like Madison WI, where I live, the number of choices increases dramatically.
But can they guarantee professional results? All the more reason to do your research before you call!
In our next posts, we'll look at the pros and cons of Do It Yourself Carpet Cleaning versus Hiring a Professional Carpet Cleaner.
