When Should Floors Be Cleaned?

Keeping the floors clean in your home and office is one of the most basic components of general tidiness and upkeep. While hardwood, faux wood, tiles, and rugs are widely popular, carpeting remains to be one of the most common types of flooring used in both homes and commercial buildings. It is warm, soft, and helps dampen sounds.

Unfortunately, carpet also can hold on to dirt, dust, and allergens far more so than tile or hardwood. Therefore, it needs to be cleaned regularly.

But how often should you clean your carpet, and what might affect the frequency? It depends on a few factors like color, traffic, and who uses it.

Vacuuming

Regular vacuuming can help keep your carpets clean in between steam cleaning or shampooing. Most carpets can be vacuumed weekly.

However, if you have kids, pets, or allergies, you should vacuum more regularly. High traffic areas and businesses should also be vacuumed more regularly. Hallways and the carpeting near your front and back doors are definitely prone to getting more dirty more quickly.

Vacuuming properly is probably the most important part of keeping a clean floor, due to the benefits of vacuuming regularly to preserve your carpet and rugs.

Professional Carpet Cleaning

Carpets should be professionally cleaned at least once a year. In some cases, it should be cleaned more frequently.

Using a professional service is a good idea.

There are many different types of professional carpet cleaning. And what most people don’t realize is that steam cleaning your carpet can actually cause more problems than it solves! There is actually a significant difference between Dry Carpet Cleaning vs. Steam Cleaning.

If carpets are frequently wet and/or stay wet for too long, they can grow mold or mildew. This can be bad for your carpet and your home’s air quality, means it can also be hazardous for your health.

Carpet should also be completely dry before furniture is replaced. Professional cleaners will clean carpets thoroughly without damaging them.

A professional will also know How Often Carpet Should be Cleaned based on the specific material it’s made from.

Kids

If you have children, carpets need to be cleaned more frequently. Kids spill, have accidents, get sick, and create crumbs. All of these things can soil carpets.

Additionally, kids are not only more accident-prone than adults, but they’re also far more likely to spend more time down on the floor playing. This puts them in direct contact with debris and microbes building up in your carpet’s fiber.

Messes should always be cleaned up immediately in order to avoid having the substance settle in and begin attracting additional dirt. Big stains should especially be treated right away and cleaned before the stain can soak in.

Small messes, especially dry ones, are not quite as critical or damaging. This is also true for minor wear and tear. However, a home with children should still be treated by professional carpet cleaners about every 6 months.

Pets

Pets can be worse than kids on your carpet. In addition to accidents and muddy paws, pets shed fur and dander daily.

These can build up in the carpet and cause problems for people with allergies. They can also invite dust mites, and the fur can get tangled into your carpet’s fibers.

Have your carpets cleaned at least every 6 months if you have pets, and more often if you have several!

Smokers

If you smoke in your home or business, tar and nicotine can build up in the fibers. Your carpet and rugs can retain the smell of the smoke and even become discolored.

Carpets should be cleaned every 3-6 months if they are subjected to regular cigarette smoke. This is also true of your upholstery if you’re an indoor smoker. Fortunately, Angel Dry’s Cap’n Clean Upholstery Cleaning Solution is top-of-the line for even the dirtiest jobs!

Light Colored Carpet

Light colored carpet is a popular choice for many homes to brighten up rooms. Unfortunately, it means they are also more prone to shoe dirt, especially in high traffic areas.

Dirt and stains are more easily seen in lighter carpet. Therefore, they need to be cleaned more regularly- again, about every 6 months.

Allergens

Allergy sufferers should have carpets cleaned the most often, about every 2-3 months- especially pet owners. This frequency of cleaning will significantly cut down on allergens in the home or business.

Carpets can hold onto dust, dander, pollen, and even mold spores. By cleaning carpets more frequently, these can be reduced and ease breathing.

High Traffic

As mentioned previously, high traffic areas of your rugs or carpeting often get dirtier faster because of the amount they are walked on. This is especially true in commercial businesses where lots of people come in and out all day, in all types of weather.

Mud, dirt, and water can all stain carpets. Yep- even clean water that hasn’t been soaked up can be damaging because it’s more likely to absorb dirt when walked on.

Have high traffic areas cleaned every 6 months to cut back on wear and tear from stains.

If you have large areas of non-carpeted flooring in your home, Angel Dry can still assist in keeping your floors clean with our Tile Grout Cleaning Service that is safe for various different tiling materials.

Rugs

Rugs can and should be cleaned as well as carpets. Professional cleaning can prolong life and keep them looking new.

As you can see from the various issues we’ve addressed, the very same considerations you make regarding carpet cleaning should be applied to fabric rugs.

Conclusion

Timely and effective floor cleaning can keep your home or office looking great and improve the length of the life of your floors. Have them professionally done at least once a year, depending on use.