 | Melvin Lorg is the owner of Mel's World Class Carpet Cleaning. He has been in the carpet cleaning business for over thirteen years. Mel's company is certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Mel spends much of his time teaching his carpet cleaners how to achieve excellence in cleaning and customer service, and has dedicated his business to helping homeowners get the highest return from their carpet investment. Mel welcomes your inquires and can be reached by phone at (800) 318-9812, (316) 687-9812 or (316) 941- 3500. |
Carpet Cleaning & Restoration
2005-12-29 10:13:00
Clean my carpet? How often?
: How often should a carpet be cleaned and why?
ANSWER: No doubt this question has surfaced at one time or another during the years you've owned carpeting. The frequency of cleaning will vary from one household to another depending upon the number of occupants and level of usage. At a minimum, you should clean once a year. Some homeowners express their fear that once the carpet is cleaned, it will re-soil quicker. This fear is the result of improper cleaning on the part of many cleaning companies. Some companies, in an effort to cut costs and save time, buy the cheaper cleaning solutions, won't provide the proper training for their technicians, and will not offer a separate rinse step to remove detergent residues. If detergent is left in the carpet, accelerated re-soiling will occur. Using a more thorough method of cleaning that uses a rinse step after the pre-spray process, removes deep down soil and leaves no detergent to accelerate the re-soiling process. The fact is, the best thing you can do for your carpets is have them regularly cleaned by a qualified professional carpet cleaning company. It is the buildup of soil that promotes wear to your carpet, far more than the foot traffic that travels on the surface of the carpet. Foot traffic grinds the soil against the carpet fibers and causes a sand-paper effect. This causes the fibers to dull and become worn looking. Major carpet manufacturers such as Dupont and Shaw Industries recommend that you have your carpets cleaned every 6-18 months, and with most of today's carpet, in order to satisfy the warranty requirements, you must save receipts from your cleanings. There are other considerations that can increase the frequency of cleanings, such as smoking habits, number and ages of children, soiling conditions, humidity, health status of occupants, allergy conditions, and number and types of pets just to name a few. Heavily traveled areas may require quarterly cleaning, while other less frequented areas may not need cleaning more than every 18 months. Either way, it makes good sense to have your carpets cleaned regularly-not only from an appearance and investment protection point of view, but also from a health standpoint. Regular deep cleaning removes bacteria, dust mites, germs, and the substances upon which these organisms live. Bio contaminants, volatile organic compounds, combustion products, asbestos, chemical contamination, outdoor pollutants, pesticides, allergens, grease and oil deposits, sand, soil, food particles, and a host of other really gross stuff will make its way into your carpet. Quite simply, your carpet acts like a sink. It collects and filters all of the above mentioned contaminants. This collection and filtering process traps these contaminants within your carpet, which in turns cleans the air you breathe and allows you to live a healthier life. Hard surface floors may allow contaminants to "roam" throughout the indoor environment. But like any other filter, your carpet needs to be cleaned on a regular basis, or it will lose its filtering ability. If these contaminants are in your home, they could be contributing to your family's health and allergy problems. Dr. Michael Berry, Deputy Director of the Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office of the Environmental Protection Agency stated, "Based on what I have learned from researchers working in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, I have reached the conclusion that carpeting and fabrics that are not properly cleaned and maintained have the potential to cause a variety of health problems inside the building and home environment.”
