Did you know that carpet is a textile just like upholstery, lines and clothing?
Trained carpet cleaning professionals must take the time to understand everything your flooring and furniture goes through – individual material types, colors, treatments, age, traffic areas, and special needs should all be carefully considered before selecting a service method that will safely clean your carpet and upholstery with the utmost effectiveness.
Here’s what most warranties say about professional carpet cleaning:
“Routine maintenance is essential to maintaining your warranty. Over time, normal foot traffic and soiling will cause a change in any carpet’s appearance. Professional extraction, either alone or in combination with cleaning, is required to maintain your warranty. This service must be performed by a trained professional occasionally to refresh the texture and rejuvenate the fibers in your carpet. Please retain your receipts for proof of maintenance should a warranty claim arise.” (All-Brite Services, Maryland)
Whether you have wall to wall carpeting or area rugs, it’s recommended to get your carpets in your home or business professionally cleaned every 12 months. As the holidays approach there is more traffic in our homes making fall a popular time of year to get your carpets professionally cleaned.
The above warranty mentions two main causes that change your carpet’s appearance:
- Soiling
- Foot Traffic.
Soiling or “filtration soiling” is a term used to describe dark, grayish lines that may appear on your carpet often times around baseboards, under doors, along the edges of stairs and possibly away from walls where plywood sub flooring materials have been joined (The Carpet Buyers Handbook). Soiling is not a defect in your carpet and does not mean you bought a low quality carpet. Soiling is the collection of soil from our shoes, dust and other airborne particles, as well as spilt food and beverages that accumulate on the carpet face fibers in areas with a concentrated flow of air over the carpet or through any tiny cracks or openings under the carpet itself. Soiling will be more visible on lighter colored carpets than darker ones.
Next, foot traffic is wears down the carpet fibers especially in “traffic lanes” – heavy traffic areas in your home or business where repeated foot traffic occurs. Hot water extraction (or with a cleaning) will refresh the texture of your carpet. When purchasing your carpet buy a more durable carpet for high traffic areas. This is measured by the Performance Appearance Rating (PAR) on a scale from 1 – 5. These measurements are obtained in a walk test endorsed by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI).
Generally, there are five different types of fibers used to create carpet — nylon, polyester, polypropylene (also called olefin), wool and acrylic – and three different factors of durability:
- Fiber
- Twist
- Density
When purchasing a carpet for your home and business make sure to consider each factor and often times the retailer will have a chart for you to compare from.
Remember however, the older the carpet is and the more matting (the point where carpet fibers will no longer return to the original shape due to loss of the fibers twist) it has, even when the carpet is cleaned and all soil has been removed, the carpet may appear dirty and have grey areas.
The best ways to prevent this are:
- Ask questions when buying carpet and consider the fiber, twist and density for each room.
- Vacuum every day if possible especially in high traffic areas in your home or business.
- Have your carpet cleaned professionally 1x a year.
- Have a professional carpet cleaner reapply stain resistant treatment because the treatment applied by the manufacturer does wear off.
Note: Truck-mounted carpet steam cleaning, like we at Octagon Cleaning & Restoration use, is a water-based vacuum extraction system that eliminates the need for an in-home water or power source and is exponentially more powerful than conventional portable machines. With the addition of increased operator control over pressure and temperature and the ability to remove the majority of the moisture from the cleaning surface, truck-mounted carpet cleaning reduces drying time and can be tailored to meet your specific cleaning needs.
About our professional carpet cleaning services:
Working carefully and efficiently, our professional carpet cleaning technicians provide superior service with the highest standards of quality. From careful consideration of material and fabric types to comprehensive cleaning that covers every inch of workspace, our commitment to quality workmanship provides you with the best value in professional carpet and upholstery cleaning. Octagon Cleaning and Restoration’s wide range of services makes us the only call you need to make in Southern and Central Maine for all your flooring and furniture maintenance.
Carpet and Upholstery Services include:
- Deep Carpet Cleaning
- Upholstery Cleaning Care
- Tile and grout Cleaning
- Advanced Stain Removal
- Odor Elimination and Control
- Water Damage Maine
- Environmentally Safe Process
- Flexible Scheduling, Free Estimates
- 24-Hour Emergency Service & Water and Flood Damage Restoration
- Serving York, Cumberland, and Oxford Counties
Click here for more info on professional carpet cleaning services in Maine.