As a homeowner, it’s vital that you schedule regular carpet cleaning by a floor care specialist near you. Professional rug cleaning ensures a pristine and hygienic surface along a home’s flooring and also enhances indoor air quality! However, many homeowners wonder if regular carpet cleaning damages residential rugs and floors or encourages mold and mildew growth underneath carpeting.
Do-it-yourself carpet cleaning often leaves behind sticky shampoo residues or excess rinse water, increasing the risk of mold and mildew growth and a carpet trapping more dirt than before cleaning. However, professional carpet cleaning actually increases the expected lifespan of carpets and keeps them looking like new for far longer than if you neglected rug cleaning.
To ensure you keep your home’s surfaces, including flooring, in excellent condition and as clean as possible, you might note some important details of carpet cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, and other floor cleaning processes. Discuss your choices and options for your home with a floor cleaning company near you, and remember that regular cleaning is an investment in your home’s overall condition and appearance as well as its value!
Note a few reasons why homeowners often mistakenly assume that professional carpet cleaning damages rugs, and why it’s best to avoid DIY rug cleaning, wood floor refinishing, and tile and grout cleaning for your home.
It’s also vital to remember that not all residential carpets and rugs are manufactured with the same materials and processes! Delicate silk fibers might require a lighter cleaning method than durable wool, cotton, nylon, or polyester, while tall nap and closed loop fibers might need a heavier cleaner method to extract trapped dirt and dust.
Homeowners often don’t realize that there are many carpet cleaning methods available today, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. If you haven’t scheduled professional rug cleaning in many years, you might consider some details about these methods so you know what to discuss with a floor cleaning contractor near you.
Even homeowners who schedule regular carpet cleaning tend to neglect tile and grout cleaning as well! Some homeowners might assume that carpets hold more dirt and debris than tile, and some tile materials are very dense and resistant to built up dirt and grime, but note that many floor tiles and surrounding grout trap and hold lots of residues. Many floor tiles have lots of pits and pores along their surfaces and grout also tends to get pitted over the years; dirt settles into these pits and becomes too ground-in for a mop to reach!
Kitchen and bathroom floors are also prone to holding germs, bacteria, and other such materials. Food debris and airborne grease work their way into kitchen floor tiles while dirty feet and laundry on the bathroom floor transfer germs and bacteria as well. A household mop and over-the-counter cleansers might remove some surface dirt but these cleaning methods are often insufficient for providing a deep clean and hygienic surfaces.
Professional tile and grout cleaning often starts with a thorough steam clean, loosening dirt and grime from all those pits and pores. In some cases, a floor cleaning contractor might also recommend applying a cleanser before all that dirt and grime is extracted and floors are rinsed clean. Homeowners are often surprised at their floor’s appearance after a professional tile and grout cleaning, while those surfaces are also clean and hygienic.
A homeowner might schedule regular carpet cleaning every other year, or more often as needed. For example, if you have children or pets or entertain often, your home’s floors might see lots of added dirt and grime and need annual cleaning, if not shampooing twice per year!
Your everyday habits might also affect your floor’s cleanliness. Cooking with lots of grease on the stovetop often means airborne grease and oil that gets trapped in carpet fibers, making them dirty and matted. If you eat in the living room or bedroom, or smoke anywhere in the house, your home’s carpets are probably holding lots of food residues, cigarette smoke and ash, and other such residues, and need cleaning on a more consistent basis than average.
Homes in the tropics and areas prone to high humidity might also suffer from mold and mildew growth underneath carpet padding. Steam cleaning kills mold and mildew, as said, and you might consider scheduling steam cleaning every year or as needed to ensure a clean and hygienic interior environment.
Cleaning water damaged rugs is different than standard steam cleaning, as floodwaters often bring lots of germs, bacteria, and toxins. A water damaged rug needs proper sanitizing to remove these residues and ensure a safe surface and interior environment.
Thorough water extraction is often the first step in cleaning water damaged rugs. Extraction removes standing water and trapped toxins and other debris. Wall-to-wall carpets are often pulled up so a carpet cleaning professional can clean the carpet padding and a home’s subfloor as needed.
Steam cleaning and then sanitizing, often with dry cleaning chemicals, are next for water damaged carpets. Proper extraction ensures all debris is removed with that steam while cleaning chemicals kills any remaining germs and bacteria. A final odor neutralizing keeps carpets smelling fresh.
As with all carpet cleaning, restoring water damaged rugs and ensuring proper sanitizing is an investment in your home. Carpet shampooing keeps rugs from becoming overly matted with dirt and filth and ensures they look their best for years to come, reducing the need to replace your home’s carpets over time.