Carpet Care Tips

Stop Dirt in Its Tracks!
Studies show that 85% of the dirt that comes into your house is tracked in by you and your guests.  It travels into your home (and onto your carpet) on shoes, feet, paws, and clothing.

The other 15% comes in through windows, cracks, heating and air conditioning duct work, exhausts, vents, and flues or is created inside by cooking, smoking and pet dander.

The first line of defense to keep carpets clean and avoid tracked-in dirt are outdoor and indoor mats, runners and small rugs.  These can significantly reduce the amount of dirt that enters your house and decreases the time in between professional carpet cleaning. Make sure you place matting both inside and outside each door to the outside, including the garage. 

Vacuum Regularly

According to the Carpet & Rug Institute, you should vacuum your carpet at least twice a week if your home has regular family traffic.  For homes with lighter traffic, once a week should suffice.

Vacuuming frequently can actually give your carpet long life from not allowing dirt and grime from getting deep into the fibers and between the carpet and pad that can actually wear carpet faster in high traffic areas. In this instance, the more your vacuum, the better it is for lengthening the carpet's life.

Regular Professional Cleaning Extends Carpet Life

The Carpet & Rug Institute advises homeowners to have their carpets professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months.

However, living in the snow belt brings additional cleaning considerations.  Consider, as well, the amount of traffic on your carpet.  If you have a busy, active young family with pets, you should consider having your carpets professionally cleaned more often than if you are newlyweds or empty-nesters. 

Some of our customers with busy lifestyles have us clean their carpets every three to nine months. We also recommend cleaning high traffic areas every six months.

It is worth the investment ... regularly maintained and professionally cleaned carpet can last up to 20 years or more!

The Performance Carpet Cleaning Difference

There are a few considerations you should keep in mind if you are thinking about cleaning your own carpet with either a consumer carpet cleaner or a rental machine.

Extraction Effectiveness

We use professional carpet cleaning  that is effective in extracting 90% of the dirt and water during the cleaning process.  Portable machines extract about 55%.  That means the fibers are more saturated for a longer amount of time, and you are not getting as much soil removed. 

Residue Reduction

Our equipment and chemicals leave less residue than those available in home improvement stores or over the counter.  The more residue is left behind, the faster the resoiling of the carpet. 

Quite often, when we work on carpet that has been previously cleaning with a rental machine or consumer portable carpet cleaner, we need to use a de-foamer first to rinse out all the residual soap that was left behind.

High Temperature

The hotter the water, the better the cleaning. Popular rental machines use tap water and have the ability to heats the water up to about 125 to 130 degrees.  However, once you start cleaning, it drops to about 90 degrees.

Our truck-mounted professional carpet cleaning equipment heats water up to 240 degrees, which will drop to 200 degrees when cleaning.  At 200 degrees, we kill dust mites and more effectively break down soil for greater cleaning efficiency.