How sand and dirt damage carpet.
A three day backpacking trip is likely to leave your body dirtier, sweatier, more scraped-up and... well… FUNKIER than you may normally allow it to be. Luckily a bubble bath and a toothbrush are enough to remove all signs of that filth. Carpet however, cannot simply recover from missing regular cleanings, and may have irreparable damage leaving your traffic areas looking worse than expected when you do have them cleaned. “Wait, WHAT?!”
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Carpet is essentially constructed from tiny fibers of clear plastic, woven into thicker strands. While individual grains of sand or dirt may be very small, in comparison to these fibers, they are giant boulders with jagged edges. The force from walking feet drives loose debris against these fibers, and as the carpet grows more soiled, this damage increases. This process results in the dirt abrading the fibers of your carpet causing it to reflect light differently, and even causing it to appear dirty.
CAN THIS BE AVOIDED? Regular vacuuming removes many of these loose surface debris before they seep into the fabric. Regular professional carpet cleanings will remove the soil your vacuum cannot reach. For the recommended frequency for vacuuming and cleaning your rugs and carpets, please see our previous entry from March 10, 2021. When you do have your carpet cleaned, consider having it “protected”, an additional service available that adds a coating to your carpet. This coating effectively adds a sheet of plastic around your carpet fibers which receives the damage, rather than the carpet.
IS IT DAMAGE OR DIRT? While carpet damage can continue to appear dirty after a professional cleaning, it should still look cleaner. If you’re concerned about the efficacy of your carpet cleaner’s work, a simple test would be to determine whether or not there was a noticeable difference. Damaged carpets tend to be more heavily soiled and their transformations, while impressive, do not result in a “like-new” appearance. A regularly maintained carpet, if heavily soiled, would yield “like-new” appearance.
Regularly vacuuming, supplemented with regular professional rug and carpet cleaning, prolongs the “like-new” appearance and extends the life of your carpet. Cleaner Carpets’ scheduling system allows you to schedule your future cleanings, provides reminders as they approach, and offers a 10% discount (coupon code: “REPEAT10”) to help make routine maintenance convenient and hassle-free.