Dirty carpets give your home a shabby look. But that’s the least of your worries when dealing with a dirty carpet.
Your carpet accumulates dust, pet hair, and grime that may cause allergies by contaminating the air in your house. Cleaning your carpet will undoubtedly rid your air of pollution and your carpet of stains.
Since carpet cleaning has numerous benefits, there couldn’t possibly be a problem with washing it often, right? Wrong. There’s such a thing as over-cleaning your carpet.
Surprising, isn’t it?
You may wash your carpet until you start breaking the fibers. How often should you wash your carpet?
Find out below.
How Often Should You Clean Your Carpets?
Typically, you may deep clean your carpet professionally every 12 to 18 months. However, several factors affect the frequency.
However, you may vacuum it once a week if you don’t have kids and only experience light traffic daily. On the contrary, a home with pets or kids requires daily cleaning. Or you may vacuum twice a week. Sometimes, you need to clean it more than twice a week.
This routine isn’t set in stone.
It’s based on different circumstances. Let’s examine factors that may influence how often you should clean your carpet.
You Live with Someone Suffering From Chronic Diseases Like Asthma
Dirty carpets encourage the buildup of allergens, dust, and particles, which affect the air quality in your living space. These allergens become airborne when you walk through the dirty carpet.
This might not be a problem if you don’t have health conditions that could be triggered by polluted air. However, if you are or live with someone with health conditions like asthma, it’s a different ball game.
You have to vacuum your carpet daily or more often than twice a week. And instead of once a year, you should consider deep cleaning your carpet about 3 times a year.
Following a healthy carpet cleaning routine is best to contain any possible triggers.
Other factors that influence how often you should clean your carpet include:
You are a Pet Lover
Having one or two pets is a game changer. Even if your pet doesn’t shed hair often, you have other things to worry about. Regardless of how trained your pet is, they are animals, after all.
You will have instances where your pets will vomit, poop, or stain your carpet, leading to unpleasant odors. You certainly don’t want that to last.
In this case, you may clean areas of your pet thread daily and the whole carpet once a week. Also, get your carpet cleaned professionally twice a year.
Color of Your Carpet
Bright-colored carpets naturally require more cleaning than darker colors. While they brighten your home, these carpets are more prone to dirt and will display stains over time. Ensure you deep clean your bright-colored carpets twice a year and vacuum them often during the week.
You Have Kids
Kids will always be kids. They want to play around, throw toys all over, and have fun. All this is absolutely fine, except it means your carpets get dirty often. As a parent, you should clean your carpet often to keep your home clean and protect your kids.
Hence, vacuum high-traffic spots daily and deep clean them twice a year.
Carpet Warranty
If your carpet has a warranty, it may include cleaning requirements. Adhere to these requirements to avoid any warranty issues.
Different Carpet Cleaning Methods
Different ways to keep your carpet clean and free from dirt or allergens exist. Here are some of the popular methods:
- Steam Cleaning: It involves using hot water to penetrate carpet fibers and eliminate stains. However, it may not be suitable for some materials.
- Bonnet Cleaning: Here, you use a motorized cleaning tool to extract dirt. The machine has a pad that you soak in quality cleaning solution for effective cleaning.
- Shampooing Carpets: This simple technique involves using a foamy chemical solution and a machine to vacuum dirt off a carpet.
- Dry Carpet Cleaning: Professionals use a cleaning solution that sticks to grime, making it vacuumable without wetting the carpet.
How Does OverCleaning Your Carpet Affect It?
All your life, you are probably used to cleaning your carpet after every little traffic. As a result, it’s challenging to come to terms with the thought of “overcleaning” your carpet. So much so that you still have doubts even after reading about the right carpet cleaning frequency. Why shouldn’t you clean your carpet very often?
You Clean an Already Clean Carpet
Imagine doing your dishes in the morning and then doing the same clean dishes again in the evening. Note that you didn’t use these plates, which means they aren’t dirty.
Weird, right?
Cleaning a dirty carpet is one thing. You get to see the results immediately and feel the improved air quality. But why clean a rug that is already clean? It will probably look the same when you finish it.
Wear and Tear
Moderacy is a big deal when caring for your carpet. Here’s what we mean. Cleaning your carpet improves its durability immensely. However, cleaning it too often causes wear and tear. The fiber becomes looser and prone to dirt and stains.
You really don’t want to damage your expensive carpet, do you?
Try Spot Cleaning
Picture this: your carpet was cleaned professionally two days ago, and your kid poured a cup of hot chocolate on it. It’s not time to haul it back to a professional cleaner! Try spot cleaning in such cases. It saves you time and effort, and you’ll have your spotless carpet back in no time.
Conclusion
Keeping a carpet cleaning routine tailored to your lifestyle is the key to a durable carpet. Cleaning your carpet well ensures you enjoy your investment and stay healthy in your home. However, cleaning it too often may throw that investment out the window.
So, now that you know it’s possible to overclean your carpet, ensure you avoid excessive cleaning. And when in doubt, don’t hesitate to consult a professional. It’s better to ask questions than regret making mistakes that may cost you an arm and a leg in the long run!