Unless you spend all your free time tidying your home, chances are you probably aren’t cleaning often enough to keep your carpets looking their best. While a weekly vacuum is enough to keep some of the dirt out of the carpet, there are still contaminants that go deep into the carpet fibers, and eventually, your vacuum will stand no chance. If you’ve never set a carpet cleaning schedule or you just want to know why a regular cleaning is so important, here’s a guide that will help show you the path to ultimate cleanliness.
Understanding Soil Types
Before you get into a routine, you should know what types of soil you’re up against. Dry soil, water-based soil, and oil-based soil are the three types of agents that get into your carpet, and only dry soil is easy to remove with a vacuum. Other soils require something more intense, as they destroy carpet fibers from the root. Determining which of these soils are in your home is a daunting task, and even the most seasoned cleaner needs professional carpet cleaners to help understand the scope of damage.
Determining Traffic
Now that you’re more familiar with the types of dirt in your home, you can assess each room based on the amount of traffic it receives. The reason why this is so important is that many carpet manufacturers have guidelines for cleaning frequency that must be followed. Failing to do so could void the warranty.
As a general rule, living rooms, hallways, and kids’ rooms typically get more traffic than anywhere else, so you’ll definitely want to focus your attention on these locations. In these high-traffic areas, you’ll need to vacuum anywhere from two to four times a week. Rooms in your home that get normal traffic don’t require as much care, so one or two vacuumings a week is just fine. Light traffic areas such as guest bedrooms need vacuuming only once a week or even biweekly.
Other Concerns
Although vacuuming is a great way to keep your carpet looking great, it doesn’t go deep enough to prolong your carpet’s life. Generally speaking, carpets last anywhere from 3 to 5 years, but with proper maintenance, there’s no reason why you can’t keep your carpet even longer. A deep cleaning is even more of a concern for several other factors. If you own a pet, cook frequently, walk barefoot, or have respiratory problems, you need to get a deep clean more often than other homeowners.
How Often Should I Deep Clean?
To answer the big question, simply look at how often your carpet gets traffic and consider whether any of the concerns already listed apply to you. In light traffic areas, you only need a deep clean about every 12 to 18 months, while normal traffic needs one deep clean each year. If you have pets or heavy traffic, you might need as many as four deep cleans, or steam cleans, a year to keep your carpet looking like new.
No matter what your home situation, it’s important to keep up on carpet maintenance to protect your investment and make your home look brand new throughout the year. If necessary, set a schedule or deep clean your entire home at once. All you’ll have to do after that is admire your carpet’s beauty.
