How Often Should You Clean Your Carpets?
Just how often should you clean your carpets? It’s a question many homeowners and renters have, and it’s certainly a good one at that. Cleaning carpets don’t just keep them looking great, but also helps them last longer. For that matter, it’s also a health matter, considering what kind of dirt, dust, and allergens can accumulate in carpet fibers over time.
Unfortunately, the question is not so easy to answer. It can immediately be broken down into how often you should clean your carpets on your own and also how often you should have professional carpet cleaning done.
Further complicating matters is that the answers vary based on your soil and/or traffic level, which itself is broken down into light, normal, heavy, and extreme categories. Fortunately, the information you need for all four levels are laid out in the following four paragraphs, letting you know what you need to do and how often you should have professionals come out to service your home.
Light Traffic/Soil
Vacuuming should happen weekly, and spot cleaning needs to happen daily or when spots are first noticed. Professional carpet cleaning should happen every 12 to 18 months for heavy use areas, with professional restorative cleaning happening every other year or at the schedule necessary to maintain the manufacturer’s warranty.
Normal Traffic Soil
This applies to families with elderly residents and/or children. Vacuuming should take place once or twice a week, with spot cleaning as incidents happen or are discovered. A professional carpet cleaning company or service should service high-traffic areas once or twice a year, with annual restorative cleanings of all carpeted areas.
Heavy Traffic/Soil
Families that have smokers or pets fall under this category, where vacuuming should happen between two and four times each week, with spot cleaning as needed. Professionals should come in and service high-traffic spaces two to four times a year, with at least two restorative cleanings per year.
Extreme Traffic/Soil
This would be a big family with more than one pet, and they need to vacuum every day, as well as doing spot cleaning per incident. Heavily trafficked areas and lanes need professional carpet cleaning as many as six times a year, with four restorative cleanings as well each year.
Don’t Skimp
No matter how much you vacuum or spot-clean, it doesn’t replace having professional cleanings done. Don’t think of them as a cost, but rather an investment in extending the life of your carpet. They’re a lot cheaper and easier than having new carpet put in since cleanings can put that off for quite a few years.