Carpet Care & Maintenance

Carpet Care & Maintenance | Spots and Spills | Wear and Tear

How To Care for your Carpet

Today’s carpet fibers are designed to hide soil and reflect light, and they have the ability to resist soiling and stains, but this does not mean that carpet doesn’t require regular care.

The problem with dirt and dry soil is that it abrades carpet fibers and causes light to reflect differently, giving it a dull appearance. That’s why removing loose soil while it remains on the surface is important so that it is not worked into the carpet pile by foot traffic.

How often you vacuum depends on how much traffic the carpet gets. However, it is recommended that under normal use, a carpet should be vacuumed once to twice a week, more often for high-traffic areas.

For maximum effectiveness, use a vacuum cleaner that has adjustable and rotating brushes that are able to loosen ground-in soil, and a strong enough airflow to penetrate to the backing, extracting all particles. The vacuum cleaner also should have an enclosed, high-filtration bag that limits particles from recirculating into the air.

Have a professional deep clean your rug every year to remove soil build-up. Several cleaning methods will work, but to prevent rapid re-soiling of your rug, it is important to completely remove any cleaning agents. Ask your retailer about steam cleaning and other methods that are in compliance with the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning methods to prevent warranty invalidation and damage. Many offer these services as well.

As with any fabric, carpet is an easy target for household spills and soiling. When these occur, treat all spills and stains immediately. The longer it sits, the harder it will be to remove.

Spots and Spills

Prompt attention to spots and spills is essential to keep your carpet looking great. Although no carpet is stain proof, they are stain resistant, which gives you time to act.

1. Remove as much of food spills as possible by scraping gently with a spoon or dull knife
2. Absorb wet spills as quickly as possible by blotting repeatedly with white paper or cloth towels. Always blot — never rub or scrape abrasively. When blotting, work from the outer edge in toward the center of the spot to avoid spreading the spill.
3. Always follow up with water to remove detergent residue that may become sticky and cause rapid re-soiling.
4. Draw out any remaining moisture by placing several layers of white towels over the spot and weigh them down with a heavy object that will not transfer color.

Wear and Tear

Denting: Stroke it with the edges of a coin. Or you can use a hair dryer or a steam iron very lightly to raise the dented area while you tug upward on the tufts.

Pile crushing: All carpet fibers will crush under heavy stationary loads. Reduce crushing by shifting furniture regularly. But if crushing cannot be helped, crushed areas usually can be improved by vacuuming regularly with a “beat bar” type vacuum, or using a plastic or wooden carpet rake to restore matted down pile.

Pilling: Certain types of carpet, or heavy traffic, sometimes can create little balls of tangled fibers and lint. Simply pull them off by hand or clip them with scissors.

Shading: After certain carpet styles have been subjected to traffic, you may notice areas that appear lighter or darker than other areas. This is simply the result of the change in direction of the pile due to pressure from footsteps and vacuuming. Brushing the pile all in one direction temporarily may correct shading, but it is part of the carpet styling and should be expected in varying degrees.

Snagging: Don’t pull the snag. Simply clip it off with scissors.

Sprouting: If loose ends or “sprouts” extend above the rest of the pile, clip them off even with the pile surface. Never try to pull them out. After clipping, smooth the area with your fingers.

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