Carpet Flooring Care And Maintenance
The three main steps in caring for and maintaining your carpet floor are (1) immediate spot removal, (2) frequent vacuuming, and (3) occasional professional cleaning.
1. Immediate Spot Removal: Spots should be removed as soon as possible after they are made.
Step 1: Remove as much of the solid or liquid spill as possible with a tablespoon or other dull instrument.
Step 2: Blot spills with clean, white absorbent materials such as towels, napkins, or tissues. Press down hard--even stand on it to put all of your weight on it!
Step 3: Only when necessary, use a damp cloth or towel and blot the area. Or use a packaged spot cleaner.
Step 4: If a spot cleaner was used, rinse with small amounts of warm water and blot to remove excess moisture. Repeat as necessary to remove as much of the detergent as possible.
2. Frequent Vacuuming:
Vacuuming keeps the carpet colors bright, removes foot printing, and prevents the buildup of dirt and household dust. As a general rule, all carpets should be vacuumed twice a week. To keep it 'like new', high traffic areas may require vacuuming as much as daily. For cut pile carpets ("plush", "velvet", "saxony", "frieze") your vacuum should be set low enough that the brushes definitively moves the carpet fibers. This will allow the vacuum to not only shake loose dirt, but to straighten your carpet, reducing matting. Other carpet types don't require this kind of contact; they only need to be low enough to shake the dirt loose.
3. Professional Cleaning:
For maximum long term return on your carpet investment, the use of professional carpet cleaners is recommended. If you have frequent visitors, children, pets, or a combination, professional cleaning at 12-15 month intervals is recommended.
For more carpet cleaning recommendations, see the Shaw Carpet Cleaning page or Carpet-Cleaning-Tips.com,
Visit the Nonn's Design Showroom Carpet Flooring Home Page or Carpet Flooring Product Information page by following the links.