Maintaining Carpet and Going to the Dentist

Carpet Cleaning & Going to the Dentist

We love to talk or preach to our clients on the importance of carpet maintenance. We try out best not to get too technical otherwise our clients look like a deer in a head light. So we have came up with the perfect analogy of how carpet cleaning is like going to the dentist – just less painful! Now stay with us we promise we’re not crazy!

From an early age our parents and our dentist tell us over and over again how important brushing our teeth and flossing is. Brushing and flossing is to teeth is what vacuuming and proper spotting is to carpet. If we brush and floss our teeth regularly when we go to the dentist it is a lot easier for the dentist to clean our teeth so we have a great smile. If we don’t brush and floss regularly then we have to deal with cavities and other often painful procedures to help save the tooth or teeth.

If you vacuum your carpet regularly it will help immensely on making your carpet last longer. You want to remove as much soil as you can within your carpet so that it doesn’t permanently damage it. There is a general rule of thumb that we like to tell our clients and that is, for every person in the home, that is how many times a week you want to vacuum your common areas where all of you convene most. We can assure you that if you follow this rule of thumb it will help your carpet last longer. Even though you are maintaining your carpet you still need a professional to come deep clean it to remove the soils and any spots you weren’t able to remove yourself. We recommend having your carpet cleaned annually and for those with 4 or more in their home we even suggest having the traffic lanes cleaned twice a year.

Next, let’s talk about carpet and fabric protection – yes there is another dentist analogy coming up we know you were waiting for it. When you’re a child and you go to the dentist, after you have your teeth cleaned the dentist will put on a fluoride treatment. This treatment is meant to protect your teeth and the help your teeth from staining so that food and beverage stains come off easier when brushing. We offer Scotchgard for our carpet and fabric protection. Scotchgard is made of a fluorochemical that fills the empty dye sites within a carpet to stop liquids and soiling from binding to those areas. Now notice fluoride and fluorochemical both are similar and that is because the same concept for your teeth applies to your carpet. That is why we always recommend to having Scotchgard applied after your carpet cleaning because it really helps. It improves your vacuuming while making the soil easier to remove and helps to prevent staining from liquids.

We know our analogy is a bit silly but when you think about it there are A LOT of similarities. We appreciate you reading and we hope that we have better educated you on why maintaining your carpet is so very important. We love seeing all of our clients regularly but we also want to help protect your textile investments and your homes that you work hard to have and keep.

What to Look For When Choosing Carpet

Choosing carpet and any other flooring in your home can be quite the task. There is always the internal conflict between what goes with what is already there, what you want, and price. To the consumer – they often do not know what they need and rely on the carpet salesman to help determine that. Now most of the carpet salesman will steer you in the right direction, but often there is conflict between what the product brochure says and what is reality.

Quality over Price

The old saying, “You get what you pay for” is almost always true – especially when it comes to carpet or flooring. Flooring and furnishing your home is one of the bigger investments you will make in your life. You want that investment to last so that you can get all of the joy and comfort out of it that you can. We already spoke about vacuuming your carpet as being the best thing you can do for your carpet besides having it cleaned professionally regularly. The next best thing you can do for your carpet is to choose the best carpet you.

Quality Carpets

The most popular two names in the carpet manufacturer world are Shaw and Mohawk and they both make great products. Carpet comes in many different fiber types: wool, polypropylene(olefin), polyester(PET & PTT carpet), acrylic(popular in the 60’s and 70’s), soft nylon, and nylon. Out of those fiber types mentioned, nylon and soft nylon are always a great choice. The reason why nylon is always a good choice is for a few reasons: 1) Nylon resists wear and tear better as the fiber holds it retention and doesn’t become matted down as quickly as other fiber types. 2) Most if not all nylon carpet comes with a protective property already applied to the carpet. The manufacturer applies a fluorocarbon or fluorochemical product to the carpet while it is being made. This protective property aides in the carpet’s ability to resist staining from liquids and doesn’t allow soils to attach easily to cause premature wear. 3) Nylon carpet can be recycled.

How to Make Your Carpet Last

We have already told you that vacuuming and professional carpet cleaning can dramatically make your carpet last longer. We cannot stress enough how choosing the right one for you will help as well. If you have a somewhat large family, 2 adults, a few children, and pets – we highly recommend you choose a nylon carpet. We are still cleaning nylon carpets that are 11-20 years old and that is impressive as the average life expectancy of carpet is 6-9 years before needing replaced. PET or PTT carpet is also said to be great for larger families with children and animals in the home. However those types of carpets are somewhat newer in the market, and we are still waiting for the jury decision on that to see if they can hold up as well has nylon has for decades now.