When the now famous Hoover brand of vacuum cleaners was first launched, very few people bought one as they refused to believe their carpets were dirty enough to need vacuum cleaning.
In truth, however, most carpets – even in the cleanest homes – are 4,000 times dirtier than toilet seats, and seven times dirtier than the average city street.
But don’t despair! There are several things you can do to help keep your carpets as clean and fresh as the day they were installed:
Vacuuming
This is the simplest and most important carpet cleaning method, and one that will keep your carpets looking good for a long time. Dry soil and sand are highly abrasive and can damage the fibers of your carpet, causing it to wear out more quickly. Regular vacuuming helps to get rid of these tracked in particles, making your carpet look brighter and prolonging its life.
Use Entrance Mats
These trap a large percentage of the every day dirt and grime brought into our homes on the bottom of our shoes.
Have Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned
This should ideally be done every 12 to 18 months, or more regularly if you, or anyone in your family, suffer from allergies, asthma or rhinitis. When carpet cleaning is properly done on a regular basis, carpets can be better for allergy sufferers than hard flooring. Carpets actually trap dust and allergens, removing them from the air.
If the carpets are not properly cleaned, however, they will become “full” and release the stored dust back into the air.
It is not true that once you’ve had your carpets cleaned they become dirtier much more quickly than before. This is only the case if you have used a sub-standard cleaning company who uses detergent, which can leave behind a sticky residue that actually attracts dirt, making your carpets dirty again in a short space of time.
If you live in Maple Grove, MN, choose a professional company to do your carpet cleaning and make sure they use hot water extraction (or steam cleaning). This is the most thorough method and recommended by most leading carpet manufacturers.
Steamatic of the Twin Cities has been offering comprehensive carpet and other cleaning solutions since 1968. Visit www.twincities.steamatic.com to view their full range of cleaning and restoration services.
