CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve just had 1000 yards of the perfect carpeting installed. The color is perfect-the installation is perfect…Now What?
Now your job as a carpet owner begins. Your carpet, like other flooring surfaces in your home, needs the proper amount of attention to keep looking and performing at its best. This is best achieved with a definite “Carpet Maintenance Plan.” The type of maintenance plan I am referring to is simply a set of guidelines that recognize that soiling is a cumulative process and does not stop in between professional cleanings. Starting from the day your carpet is put into service soil will begin to accumulate on it. If you can remove as much of this soil as possible on a continual basis you can prolong the life and beauty of your carpeting.
The first step in laying out a maintenance plan is to determine what areas of the carpeting will get the heaviest foot traffic. We refer to these areas as “high traffic areas”. High traffic areas fall into two categories:
- Wipe Off Areas
- Walk Paths
Wipe off areas are areas where foot traffic flows from hard surface flooring onto carpeting. These would include: outside entrance ways, kitchens and lavatory doorways. Walk paths are areas which are heavily traveled from carpet to carpet. These include: hallways and paths around furniture.
Follow These Steps for Perfect Carpet Performance...
Now that we know where the heaviest traffic is likely to be we can concentrate our maintenance efforts in these areas. As with all things the best way to maintain the appearance of your carpeting is by prevention.
The Hoover Company has determined that 79% of dry particulate soil deposited on carpeting comes from the bottom of our shoes. If you simply remove your shoes before entering your home you can eliminate the majority of the dry soil from getting onto your carpets. Removing footwear has also been shown to reduce the amounts of heavy metals present in homes as well ( subject for another post).
Another excellant way to prevent soil from entering your home is the use of entry matting which will help remove soil from shoes before it can be deposited on your carpeting. The matting should be constructed so that it can be cleaned easily with a garden hose.
Protecting Your Carpet-Part II (Coming soon) will offer some tips for removing the soils that do make it onto your carpeting.
Wishing you a Clean, Healthy Home (& office)…ALWAYS!
