Benefits, Tips & Action Plan for Clean Carpets
Carpet acts much like a filter, trapping allergens and keeping them out of the air you and your family breathe. These trapped allergens, such as pollen, pet dander and dust, can then easily be removed through proper cleaning techniques. Proper vacuuming is the easiest and most effective way to keep your carpet clean.
Benefits to Clean Carpets
- Home hygiene –Vacuuming will eliminate dust and allergens before they have a chance to build up in your home, resulting in an overall cleaner home and environment.
- Prolong your carpet’s life – Carpet maintenance requires vacuuming so that they look fresher for longer while also getting rid of the various dirt particles responsible for grinding into your carpet fibres.
- Improve your family’s health – While you can’t always tell from looking at your carpets, there are all sorts of things that can cause health issues to you without being noticed. All carpets act like giant filters, trapping dust mites and dirt particles of all kinds, which can cause issues for those with allergies or asthma. Not only will vacuuming visually improve your home, but it will also have the largest impact on the air you breathe.
Vacuuming Tips
- Don’t rush things. Experts say that 80% of a vacuum job’s effectiveness comes when pulled back as opposed to pushed forward.
- Vacuum in multiple directions to loosen dirt and other contaminants and keep the carpets and rugs from looking worn.
- Make sure to clean the crevices and corners where dust builds up the most.
- Check your vacuum cleaner’s belts and brush bars regularly for trapped hairs and clean accordingly.
Use a HEPA-type bag or filter if you can, as they do a good job of containing the finer particles of dirt.
How Often Should I Vacuum?
There is good news and bad news about how many times per week it is recommended that you break out the vacuum cleaner.
The recommended formula from the Carpet & Rug Institute is:
• Vacuum daily in high-traffic or pet areas. Consider hallways, entrance ways, living rooms, and wherever else your family spends most of their time as the high traffic areas.
• Vacuum twice weekly in medium-traffic areas.
• Vacuum weekly in light-traffic areas, using attachments at carpet edges. Storage rooms and guest rooms don’t need vacuuming as often, and can go even two weeks between cleanings.
While a lot of us like to think we can see when our carpets need vacuuming and when they don’t, the plain truth is that if it looks like it needs to be vacuumed, it is actually filthy (it needed to be vacuumed a long time ago).
Most dirt particles won’t stay on top of the carpet fibers, but will fall down to the bottom where they are not as visible. By the time you can see them, it means there is a buildup of dirt which will have started to cause damage and stains already.
