How Often Should You Clean Your Carpet?

Overview

Many homeowners and renters are confused about the importance of scheduling regular carpet cleaning. They may see professional cleaning as unnecessary or assume that regular vacuuming can do the same thing as steam cleaning. Nothing could be further from the truth.

A professional carpet cleaner uses a specially designed steam cleaner and cleaning products to deep clean your carpets and rugs. Unlike vacuuming, which sucks debris from your carpet, a professional cleaner is able to neutralize and kill mold, bacteria, and allergens found deep inside your carpeting.

Professional Carpet Cleaning Benefits

Regular vacuuming (at least three times per week) is important to maintaining the appearance of your carpet and improving air quality. But there are numerous benefits of having your carpets and rugs cleaned professionally. Here are some of them:

• Professional steam cleaning can remove pollutants and allergens that vacuums cannot eliminate./li>
• Steam cleaning kills dust mites. While you can’t really see these mites, they are there, and can contribute to allergies and breathing problems.
• Do you have pets? Are you always buying sprays and powders to get rid of pet odors? A professional carpet cleaning service can usually do a much better job of ridding your home of odors than you can do on your own.
• Professional steam cleaning can also remove mold from your carpets. Many people have health concerns about mold, particularly areas of the country that have warm, damp climates.
• Embarrassed by the stains on your carpet? A professional can often remove them entirely, eliminating the need to place furniture over spots, stains, and other damage.

Carpet Warranties

Another reason to clean your carpets regularly is that your warranty may require you to do so. In many cases, the warranty may become invalid if you fail to have the carpet professionally cleaned at least once every 18-24 months. When you purchase a rug or carpeting, check the warranty and add a note to your schedule about scheduling a professional cleaning. Doing so will preserve the warranty and potentially save you money if you begin having problems with the carpet.

How Often Should You Clean Your Carpet?

As noted above, you should check your carpet warranty to determine a bare-minimum carpet cleaning schedule. However, many carpet and air quality specialists recommend more frequent cleanings: At least once per year. This is particularly true if you have pets or a member of your family has allergies, asthma, or other breathing issues. In such cases, ask your doctor for his or her recommendation regarding cleanings.