Carpets and upholstery are magnets for dirt and dust, but it isn’t always easy to tell when it’s time for them to be cleaned. That’s because the fabrics used in your carpet and furniture upholstery absorb a sizable amount of particles, and even regular vacuuming doesn’t guarantee their thorough cleanliness. That’s not to say you shouldn’t put your vacuum and its attachments to good use, but a professional carpet and upholstery cleaning is a worthwhile investment you can make every now and then.
Carpet cleaning
One of the reasons so many homeowners opt for carpeting is because carpet is designed to hide dirt. It’s a job that most carpets do quite well. Even so, the same homeowners who opt for carpeting don’t usually make a habit of just letting all that dirt seep further down into the carpet fibers, and they will vacuum once or twice a week. That routine vacuuming does a pretty good job at keeping carpets clean, but it doesn’t get all the dirt out.
Over time, dirt, dust, and dander will sink deeper down into the carpet. Some of those particles will settle deep down where most household vacuums can’t reach. That means no matter how often you vacuum, there will be some particles you miss – particles that can cause odour or discolour a carpet.
The main advantage to getting your carpet professionally cleaned is that the cleaning is actually a restorative process. Professional cleaning can remove the dirt particles, allergens, pollutants, dust mites, and minuscule pieces of debris that ordinary vacuuming often leaves behind. A thorough cleaning can make your carpet look, feel, and smell like new.
Most carpet manufacturers recommend cleaning once every 12-18 months. However, depending on the circumstances in your home, you might want to consider a different timeframe.
If you have pets, it would be wise to consider a carpet cleaning once every six months, since your furry friends consistently add to the dander and dirt deposit within your carpets. Additionally, if there are members of your household who suffer from allergies or other respiratory ailments, it may be a good idea to clean your carpets more regularly . Doing so may help those members of your household breathe a little easier.
Cleaning your upholstery
Like carpeting, upholstery is designed to hide dirt. If you have several people in your household, that upholstery will be routinely bombarded with dead skin cells every time someone takes a load off on the couch or easy chair. Plus, furniture absorbs dirt from circulating air, just like your carpet.
One trick to help you determine when it’s time to clean your upholstery is to look for changes in colour. For sofas and chairs, have a look at the armrests. Yellow, brown, or grey shades mean there’s a buildup of dirt. If those colours really stand out against the rest of the furniture’s fabric colour, it’s time for a cleaning.
A couch that gets heavy use from multiple people each day, or a chair that your cat or dog loves to curl up on will absorb more dirt, and therefore need to be cleaned more often. Like carpeting, upholstery can go roughly a year between cleanings, but you may want to shorten that time frame for your most used pieces of furniture.
