Carpet Cleaning And Interior Decor
The size of the carpet makes it have a huge impact on the rest of the interior space. When it’s all elegant, it enhances the ambience of the space. However, when the carpet gets dingy because of the dirt and grime that has accumulated over time, or dotted with stains due to the occasional spills, it drags down the décor of the premises.
The build-up of dirt in the carpet is gradual. In fact, you may fail to notice the differences, but guests coming in will be sure to. Seeing the reaction they will have if the house is not as clean as you had initially thought can be embarrassing. Stains on the other hand stick out like a sore thumb, and you may even find yourself having to explain why the carpet is all stained up to your guests -a situation that no host wants to find themselves in. A thorough carpet cleaning is needed to get rid of the grime build-up and stains to restore the beauty to the carpet
The Value Of Vacuuming
To keep your carpet vibrant and in shape for long, vacuuming is necessary. This is to keep the levels of dust and debris that build up every day in the fibres of the material to a minimum. Vacuuming frequently in between the routine visits from the carpet cleaning professionals will enhance the health standards of the premises, and prolong the lifespan of the carpet.
Neglecting the vacuuming allows more dirt and debris to break down the fibres of the carpet. This is exacerbated by the abrasive action that is witnessed as people walk on the carpet, grinding the particles against the material. The increased dirt levels contribute to giving the carpet a dingy appearance, which deteriorates the rest of the decor of the space.
When vacuuming, there are a couple of issues that you should take note of:
- Take your time
Rushing the vacuuming processes means that the machine wouldn’t have sufficient time to suck up the dirt on the carpet. Don’t rush it, but instead slowly move the vacuuming over the surface – that way it can pick even the particles that are held beneath the carpet surface.
- Use different directions
Approaching the carpet from multiple directions increases the effectiveness of the vacuuming. For instance, you can use the compass patterns, vacuuming from the ‘north, south, east, and west’. Basically, the goal is to tackle each section from multiple angles. Pay close attention to the edges, since this is where loads of dust accumulate.
- Work with the right vacuum for your situation
The vacuum used will depend on factors such as the filtration and suction capacity, ergonomics with regards to how well it is easy for you to use, as well as the maintenance processes required. It is especially recommended that you use a unit with a HEPA filter, in order for the dirt particles to be suctioned off the carpet without being recirculated back into the indoor air space.
- Vacuum in a routine schedule
Vacuuming is not a one-time event. This should be done regularly, such as twice in a week, or more if there are high traffic levels in the household. Homes with kids and pets will require more frequent vacuuming.
Hire Professionals For Deep Carpet Cleaning
Carpet cleaning is one of those chores where taking it on by yourself can be frustrating. It starts out with the desire to save on costs and even handle a new challenge, but things quickly spiral out of control. There are plenty of ways in which mistakes can be made during the DIY carpet cleaning, with costly ramifications. Some of the issues that crop up include:
- Getting poor results
The professional contractors come with high-powered equipment as well as years of experience under their belt. This combination enables them to deliver quality results quickly. Unfortunately, the same case does not apply for the DIY jobs. Here, one is forced to rely on instructions lifted off manufacturer manuals, or even blogs and videos from the internet – which cannot be compared to the intensive training that the professionals have been taken through. In addition, the equipment that the DIYers hire from stores has less capacity compared to the industrial-grade machinery that the pros use, meaning that they start off at a disadvantage. This leads to issues like dirt or soapy residue remaining within the carpet and this will require more rounds of cleaning to get rid of them, costing you more in the process.
- Prolonged drying time
While professional carpet cleaning companies have extraction gear that sucks out the bulk of the moisture from the carpet, the average equipment used for DIY tasks leaves plenty of liquid behind within the plush fibres. Overwetting is also a concern, where the DIYer drenches the carpet in too much solution, perhaps in an attempt to flush out the heavy dirt build-ups. This has the undesired effect of prolonging the drying time – such that it can take days for the carpet to dry.
The longer that the carpet remains wet, the greater the disruption to your day-to-day activities. After all, you can’t go walking around on wet carpets. This is just the start of the troubles though. Prolonged drying times bring about the risk of mould growths, where the fungi slowly spread in the carpet material. This causes there to be odours, a new category of stains that will need to be addressed, as well as health risks that result from the increased concentration of spores and mycotoxins that get released into the indoor air space.
- Carpet delamination
The cleaning requirements vary from one carpet to the next. However, many of the materials generally lose their structural integrity the wetter they become. Soaking the carpet in too much liquid can have the effect of the secondary backing of the carpet separating from the primary backing – which is referred to as delamination. This damages the carpet and is costly to repair.
- Discolouration
The aesthetics of the carpets are on the line. Use the wrong cleaning agent, and the dyes can get bleached out, causing white patches on the material. Use too much water, and there can be brown stains forming. Colour bleeding can also occur, where the dyes leach out of the material. With such risks being seen with DIY carpet cleaning, it’s no surprise that manufacturers insist that carpet owners get their units cleaned by a professional on a routine basis. In fact, this is usually included as part of the warranty.
- Shrinkage
This is another effect that can be caused by overwetting the carpet. In addition, you can’t simply “stretch the carpet” back into its former shape. You may need to replace the unit itself – which is far more expensive than simply outsourcing the carpet cleaning to a professional who will ensure that the right measures are put in place to get rid of the dirt and grime without posing a risk to your carpet.
- Residue
This can be due to failure to thoroughly clean the carpet, or issues like overshampooing. Leaving dirt or soapy residue in the carpet also causes it to get resoiled at a faster rate. You end up being forced to have the carpet cleaning repeated much earlier than had been anticipated, and all this will cost more time and resources.
You don’t want to run into such headwinds. Your goal is to get rid of the dirt and stains, not spend days or weeks fretting over a ruined carpet. Avoid the hassle involved by simply getting a professional to take care of the task for you. This comes with several benefits, including:
- Gives your carpet a longer life
Getting rid of the dirt that is accumulating in the carpet, and avoiding the damages that could have been caused by mistakes made during the DIY cleaning, enables your carpet to last for longer. It is an expensive investment, one that you want to continue providing value to the interior décor for years, not watch its lifespan being cut short because of ignoring proper maintenance measures. The size and placement of the carpet in the premises makes it have an integral role to play in setting the ambience. With professional care, you get to preserve the beauty and structural integrity of your unit, giving you more value out of the funds you used purchasing and installing it in the first place.
- Get rid of allergens and pollutants
A soiled carpet is a health hazard. Those allergens that have been accumulating in the material, pollutants like smoke, and even pathogens breaking down the organic matter that is buried within the fibres of the unit – these all need to be got rid of. You don’t want your family members at home, or the customers and staff in your business premises being exposed to the health risks. Contactors offering residential and commercial carpet cleaning services respectively will enable you to maintain a healthy environment for the occupants of the building.
- Eliminating odours
They foul up the indoor air space, taking away the comfort of those on the premises. No one wants to spend their day being assaulted by foul smells emanating from the material. It’s also embarrassing when guests coming over ask about the source of the smell, and as the host you begin cringing back or fumbling through answers to justify the situation. For commercial establishments, this can put the business in a negative light. Consumer reviews about bad smells at the business will be bound to spread quickly through social media and generate backlash, which is not how you want things going, especially with all the resources that are being put into product development and marketing
A professional residential and commercial carpet cleaning service comes in with the tools needed to get rid of the sources of the odours that are pervading the premises. From the organic gunk in the carpet, smoke odours, in case there has been a fire or there are smokers in the premises, all through to issues like pet urine stains that instantly result in pungent smells – all these are addressed. In addition, odour neutralisers are used in order to react with the molecules of the smells. This ensures that the problem has been summarily dealt with, and you won’t have to worry about the odours recurring. This is the preferable approach to simply using formulations that mask the smell but don’t deal with the underlying cause.
- Getting rid of stubborn stains
Occasionally some stains remain in the carpet for months, getting more difficult to remove with each passing day. Some may have been ignored while they were still wet, allowing the chemicals in the spills to fuse with the carpet fibres, while for others it can be due to the carpet owner not finding the right agent to remove the stains. Whichever the case, this doesn’t mean that you have to condemn yourself to staying with an unsightly carpet that is covered in all sorts of stains. The professionals have the training needed to tackle a wide assortment of stubborn stains, as well as access to more formulations that are not readily available over-the-counter. This enables them to put in place the required measures to get rid of the stains riddling the carpet, restoring its charm and appeal
There are definitely lots of other activities that you would rather spend your weekends engaged in, instead of buckled up over a dirty carpet, scrubbing away over the grime that has built up over the months or years. Heading over to the store to hire the carpet cleaning machinery also means that you’ll need to wait in line for the equipment to be available, as well as take more time to research on how to properly use the machinery. In case the equipment doesn’t have the required capacity to extract the bulk of the moisture from the wet carpet, you will end up having your normalcy disrupted for days.
On the other hand, relying on the professionals enables you to have the task done in moments. In fact, the carpet can be thoroughly cleaned and dry within the same day. Their access to more personnel and industrial-grade equipment slashes down the time that they take to deliver on their mandate, since this is their bread and butter and they need to invest in high-powered machinery to enable them to meet the needs of a diverse range of residential and commercial carpet cleaning clients.