Good home hygiene is crucial. That said, an item on your property hides many unwanted surprises like pollutants, grime, and germs. Your favourite living room carpet.
- How often should you have your carpets cleaned?
- Factors defining cleaning frequency
- Benefits of professional carpet cleaning
So, if you:
- Have bought a beautiful new carpet and wonder if it’s time to wash it;
- Wondering, “how often should I have my carpets cleaned?”;
- Are just curious whether you are taking care of the carpeting in your home as frequently as required;
You are at the right place. This article will discuss how often you should clean a carpet and what happens if you don’t clean your carpet.
How often should you clean your carpets?
The golden rule of proper carpet maintenance is to vacuum twice a week and have your carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year. For heavy-traffic areas or households with children, pets or smokers, we recommend vacuuming your carpet anywhere between three to seven times a week and having it deep cleaned every three to six months. And, of course, if you’ve spilt something that can stain your rug, like red wine, you need to clean it immediately.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t apply to every household on earth. To get a better clue of the carpet cleaning frequency, let’s take a closer look at the factors we mentioned above, plus some additional ones:
- Are there children in the house?
- Do you have pets?
- Is there a family member with allergies or respiratory issues in the house?
- Do you have smokers in the property?
- How much foot traffic does the carpet receive?
- Do you wear shoes inside the house?
To make things easier, check out this chart that shows what cleaning intervals to follow depending on several factors:
| Traffic Soil Rating | Vacuuming | Spot Cleaning | Deep cleaning |
| Light Soil | 1 x per week | Daily or as soon as spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 12 – 18 months |
| Medium Soil (families with children, elderly) |
1 to 2x per week | Daily or as soon as spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 6 to 12 months |
| Heavy Soil (families with pets, smoking) |
2 to 4x per week | Daily or as soon as spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 3 to 6 months |
| Extreme conditions (large families, multiple pets) |
Daily | Daily or as soon as spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 2 to 3 months |
IICRC Standard & Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning (IICRC S100)
Think it’s time to get those carpets deep cleaned? Learn about our professional deep cleaning methods, prices, discounts and more.
Factors that will determine the frequency of carpet cleaning
Take into account the following aspects of your lifestyle to determine the regularity of carpet washing:
Children
Children and carpets have a very special relationship. Raise your hand if your little kiddo has spilt their juice on your rug or has left a track of muddy footsteps on it from playing in the garden at least once.
For those of you who are parents, make sure to take care of the high-traffic parts of your carpeting every six to twelve months. Also, we advise you to get your entire carpet professionally cleaned once a year.
Pets
Pets are awesome but don’t have your carpet’s best interest in mind. You know what we are talking about – muddy paw prints, dog/cat hair, pet pee, etc.
If you have pet companions strolling in your house, clean the high-traffic parts of your rugs every three to six months and hire an expert carpet cleaner to wash them twice a year.
Children and pets
Both children and pets in a single household mean only one thing – a dirty carpet. We recommend getting your rug professionally cleaned a bit more often – every two to three months.
How to clean carpet under warranty
If you just bought a nice, new carpet, it probably came with a guarantee. Check the warranty for any specific instructions related to the rug’s maintenance. Most warranties will say that you need to get your carpet cleaned by a professional about once a year; still, to be on the safe side, take a look at yours before booking the service or cleaning it yourself.
My carpet doesn’t look dirty. What do I do then?
You see, it may not look dirty, but in reality, the base of its fibres is most likely soiled.
It just takes a bit more time for the dirt to become visible. Note that the more heavily soiled your rug is, the less chance you have of getting its original, nice colouring and texture back.
The benefits of professional carpet cleaning
Dangerous particles are destroyed
Like we said earlier, your carpet may look clean on the outside, but deep, in between its fibres, dangerous particles may be lurking. We are talking about bits of food, dirt, dust and even pet dander, for that matter.
All of the described can cause your rug to smell bad and start to look bad with time. If that isn’t enough to convince you, the same particles can spread germs and bacteria throughout your house, leading to health issues. To reduce the risk, follow a cleaning routine based on your household’s lifestyle.
You prolong the life of your carpet
As time passes, the fibres of your carpet start collecting nasty stuff like dirt and grime. Such build-up can both affect your respiratory system and destroy your rug. If you don’t take care of your carpet, the dust and grime will slowly degrade the carpeting’s fibres, leading to a damaged carpet.
To prevent this situation, make sure to get your rug deep cleaned at least once a year.
The rugs will look and smell good
The more time you spend cleaning your carpets, the better they look. Vacuum them as frequently as possible so you can enjoy their nice appearance for as long as possible. After all, who doesn’t like a fresh-smelling, bright, fluffy carpet?
If you are wondering about between a DIY cleaning and a professional service, read our article on professional carpet cleaning vs DIY cleaning. It will help you choose what’s best for your precious rug!
What happens if you don’t clean your carpet?
It’s simple: it won’t last as long if you don’t take care of your carpet properly As dust, dirt, and grime find their way into your carpeting over time, they will wear down the fiber’s quality. The longer you wait to get rid of these elements, the harder it will be to do so.
The possibility of allergies increases as bacteria accumulates in carpets. Sneezing, runny noses, stuffy noses, coughing and other allergy symptoms may be experienced if you don’t regularly clean your carpet. Dust mites in unclean carpets can trigger or worsen itchy skin, rashes, athlete’s foot, and eczema.
Professional carpet cleaning by Fantastic Services
As you can see, regular carpet maintenance plays a very important role in ensuring the health of your home. Especially if you are a parent or have allergies.
Fantastic Services offers professional carpeting cleaning solutions to ensure you live in a clean and healthy environment. Depending on the material of your rug, you can choose our hot water extraction method or our dry cleaning solution. HWE will restore the initial state of your carpeting while killing all living bacteria in between its fibres.
On the other hand, our dry cleaning services are definitely the way to go if you own a piece made from more delicate material. Both treatments are performed by certified and fully-insured carpet cleaning experts who use completely eco-friendly products.
Time to clean your carpet? We’ve got your covered!
Get a quote online for a professional deep carpet cleaning.
Takeaways
- Regular carpet maintenance is vital for the health of your home.
- To choose the correct carpet cleaning method, you must first know what the rug is made of.
- If you aren’t sure what type your rug is, expert carpet cleaners can consult you on-site and advise you on the type of treatment and the washing frequency for your textile flooring.
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We hope our article has answered all of your questions. Let us know how many times you clean your textile flooring in the comment section below.
Image source: depositphotos / phillyo77