Carpet is a sizable investment. Therefore, it is important for carpet owners to have their carpets cleaned professionally on a regular basis to protect their investment. However, this is often impeded by the various carpet cleaning myths circulating around. Below, you will find some of the most common carpet myths debunked.
Myth #1: Carpet Looks Clean But..
Carpets today are designed to hide dirt so they’re usually much dirtier than they actually appear. The problem with hidden dirt is that it can destroy your carpet prematurely. If you were to examine dirt particles under a strong magnifying glass, you would see that their edges are jagged and sharp. Thus, they can literally shred the fibres of your carpet like tiny knives. When you find a big wad of carpet fuzz in your vacuum cleaner that is the result of this shredding process.
#2. New Carpet is Cleaner
For the first reason above, if you let dirt build up in your new carpet, the life of your carpet will be greatly reduced. In fact, this is why carpet manufacturers usually require professional carpet cleaning every twelve to eighteen months or the factory warranty becomes null and void.
#3. Professional Carpet Cleaning Shrinks Carpet
There used to be some truth in this myth when carpets were made primarily of wool or other natural fibres. Today, however, the vast majority of carpets are made of synthetic fibres like nylon, polypropylene or polyester where the risk of shrinkage is quite minimal.
#4. Renting a Carpet Steam Cleaner Will Do
Wrong! Steam cleaning with the rented machines often damages a carpet because they water log the carpet but don’t have enough power to suck it back out. This leaves the carpet so wet, it mildews which can break down the fibre of your carpet quite rapidly. This mildew can also make you, your family, and your pets sick.
#5. Professional Carpet Cleaning vs Good Stain Remover
Consumer end stain removers you buy at department stores or grocery stores never do as good a job at removing a stain as a good professional carpet cleaner. Moreover, they often leave a bigger “stain” than when you started because they remove the colour out of the carpet and they damage the fibre.
If you want to protect your investment and make your carpets last much longer, you should have your carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year. In fact, you should have them professionally cleaned more often if you have pets and/or several children living in the house as the dirt tracked in will be considerably more.
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By Alisha Webb. Alisha is a British writer and content developer for Turtlemat that produces washable doormats and rugs.