Restoration Carpet Cleaning

One of the most common questions we are asked is "How often should I clean my carpet?" And of course, people are asking because, frankly, no one has ever told them, and information online is often inaccurate and very misleading.

Interestingly, how often carpet should be cleaned or by what process is somehow seen as an opinion or open to interpretation, when nothing could be farther from the truth. There is in fact a very specific maintenance schedule provided by the carpet manufacturer to ensure your carpet outlasts the warranty, so here it is:

According to the Carpet & Rug Institute, as well as every major carpet manufacturer including Shaw and Mohawk, wall-to-wall, synthetic carpet should be professionally cleaned within 2 years of the original installation and only by "Hot Water Extraction / Steam Cleaning". This means that in-home methods do not count, and no dry-cleaning process counts... Why?  Because they are not at all effective at solving the core reason for having the carpet cleaned, which is removing as much dry soil from the carpet as possible.

After the initial cleaning at the 18-month mark, the carpet should be cleaned every 12 months, again via Hot water Extraction / Steam Cleaning. In addition, the carpet should be vacuumed at least once each week. What we are describing here is not an opinion, but rather a regular maintenance program which is required by major carpet manufacturers to uphold their warranty & to protect your investment. This is no different than changing the oil in your car.  

The fact is that this schedule is almost never followed, with the average first cleaning being well over 6 years. This means that by the 6-year point, the carpet should have been cleaned at least 5 times. 

Another issue is that when the carpet is cleaned, many have employed ineffective cleaning processes, which is nearly the same as not having cleaned the carpet at all: While the look and appearance of the surface fibers may have improved, little has been done to achieve the actual goal, which is to remove the damaging dry soil buildup.

These "ineffective cleaning processes" would include any of the in-home cleaning methods or any of the various "dry cleaning" processes which – because they only clean the surface of the carpet – do not accomplish the actual goal of deep soil removal. The result is that the vast majority of homes have far too much damaging dry soil within the carpet fibers, which is the root cause of most carpet issues, including uneven wear and traffic patterns.

After years of dry soil collecting in the fibers and backing material, traditional carpet cleaning, even with the correct process, is not nearly as effective as it would have been if the above cleaning regimens were followed. As the carpet begins to age and has not had the benefit of a proper and timely cleaning regimen, the wear to the carpet begins to increase and thus the overall "look" of the carpet begins to decline, with the carpet pile appearing matted. The homeowner then calls a trusted cleaner, hoping to reset the clock and to restore the carpet back to its previous luster... and then they are disappointed. Does this sound familiar? 

This is the basis of what makes restorative carpet cleaning necessary – and while no cleaning process will correct wear, it is highly effective at "resetting the clock" for carpet which has not had the benefit of a regular maintenance program.