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By Elite Carpet Cleaning 4-24-2013

DENVER AREA CONSUMER GUIDE TO CARPET CLEANING PART 1

Is carpet cleaning a DYI project?
How often should it be cleaned?
Does it matter who I choose or what cleaning method is used?

This guide will answer these four common questions and will provide tips on how to keep your home healthy as well as help you avoid unethical cleaners and common rip-offs!

Many people put off cleaning their carpet because choosing a carpet cleaning company is not any easy thing to do. Why is it so difficult? For one thing it’s a matter of trust. It’s not easy to just pick a name from a Denver carpet cleaning Google search, especially when we are going to allow this stranger in our home. We want to be sure we’ve chosen a reputable company with a history of outstanding professionalism and service, not someone who is not only scary looking, but hits us with high-pressure offensive sales tactics once inside our home. For this reason some consumers decide carpet cleaning is a DIY. But is that the best choice for the longevity of your flooring investment?

1. Is carpet cleaning a DIY project?

Yes, but mostly no. The problem with machines that can be rented from Denver supermarkets or hardware stores is that they don’t get the water hot enough to clean the carpet thoroughly and they don’t have enough suction power to extract the dirt and grime hidden in deepest parts of the carpet pile.

  • Rental machines roughly cost around $300
  • A professional portable $5000
  • Truck mounted unit $18,000.

With that in mind it’s easy to see which type of carpet cleaning method would work the best. Also the cleaners available for use in most rental machines tend to be a little more on the benign side. This is because DIYer’s (in the past, myself included) don’t always follow label mixing and application instructions, therefore the cleaners have to be able to clean a very broad spectrum of carpet fibers without damaging them. On the other hand an IICRC certified carpet cleaning technician has an array of cleaners at his disposal and will match the perfect cleaner to your carpet for a clean that’s can’t be touched by rental equipment.

A couple of questions to ask yourself:

  • How much is my time worth? (I think I’d rather visit the Denver Art Museum or Denver Zoo with my kids than cleaning carpet.)
  • Do I really want to try to save a few dollars by going out, renting a machine, learning how to use it, doing the actual work, then cleaning it up and returning it to the store?
  • Is it really worth it?

2.How often should my carpet be cleaned?

Carpet cleaning needs to be done on a regular bases. Why? Small dirt and grime particles are abrasive and each time you walk on your carpet they act like sandpaper on the carpet fibers. The longer we go between carpet cleanings the more damage the carpet suffers. Sometimes it helps to put the importance of carpet cleaning and proper maintenance into prospective with the cost of other major purchases. Most of us don’t realize that:

  • Carpet is usually the third largest investment most homeowners will make
  • After their home
  • And their automobile

It makes sense to protect our flooring investment

The frequency depends on several factors.

  1. How many people live in the home
  2. Their ages
  3. If you have any pets
  4. Your families health
  5. Allergies

If you have children you already know how fast things like rugs, carpet and upholstery can get dirty. Our pets also tend to forget to wipe their feet before coming inside. Under these conditions carpet can lose its attractiveness rather quickly. Our recommendation would be to have the open areas cleaned every eight to twelve months which nicely compliments most manufacturers’ warranty recommendations to have the carpet cleaning every 24 months.

There is also your families health to consider when deciding how often to clean the carpet. Carpeting acts like a giant filter in our homes. It traps dust, dirt, allergens and all the yucky stuff that finds its way into our homes. Just like the filter in the furnace which functions best when it’s clean, our home will stay cleaner longer and trap more of the unseen nasty’s if our carpet is cleaned regularly. If someone you love suffers from allergies, asthma or other breathing problems professional cleaning can be an effective tool in the battle against these irritants and allergens.

Care for the beautiful in things in life

Hopefully we’ve help answer the first 2 questions

  1. Is Carpet Cleaning a DIY project?
  2. How often should I clean my carpet?

In the next blog we’ll answer

  1. Does it really matter which carpet cleaning company in Denver I choose?
  2. Although we’ve discussed it somewhat: What is the best method for cleaning my carpet?

CATEGORIES: Carpet Cleaning