Aging Carpet? Follow These Tips To Keep It Looking Somewhat Presentable
Every carpet eventually reaches that stage where it begins to look a little worn, but it's not exactly in need of replacement yet. The way you care for the carpet at this stage matters a lot. With good care, you can keep the carpet looking presentable for a few more years, but if you make care mistakes, you may be calling the carpet store in just a year or two. Here are some tips to help keep that aging carpet looking its best.
Set your vacuum brushes a bit higher.
When you set your vacuum brushes low, they comb through the fibers as you push the vacuum over the carpet. While this does get the carpet very clean, it's a bit hard on the fibers. If your fibers have already begun to show wear, you don't want to keep brushing through them aggressively. So, raise the height of the brushes on your vacuum. You'll still suck up the dirt and debris, but with less wear on the carpet. You may want to vacuum a little more often to make up for the reduced effectiveness of each vacuuming session.
Keep up with shampooing.
Don't "give up" on your carpet and assume shampooing it is a waste now that it's beginning to show signs of age. Shampooing a carpet does not just keep it clean. It removes the more ground-in dirt particles that cause friction between the carpet fibers as you walk over carpet. If you don't shampoo the carpet, this fiction will increase, and your carpet will start looking frayed and fluffy a lot sooner. Keep shampooing the carpet once or twice a year. Just be gentle when you do it; don't use an overly harsh shampoo or set the brushes on your shampooer too low.
Rearrange your room to change the flow of traffic.
In most rooms, there's a certain way foot traffic flows. The places you're always walking over get worn far faster. You can extend the life of your carpet if you rearrange the furniture in the room to create a new "path." This way, the worn area won't get as much traffic. You'll instead be walking over an area that has yet to get worn out. Sketch out several different furniture layouts on paper and choose the one that would best encourage people to walk on the less-worn bits of the carpet.
With the tips above, you may be able to keep your carpet looking decent for a few more years. This gives you a chance to save up and then later buy the new carpet you really love. For more information, contact local professionals like Wilson Carpet & Air Duct Cleaning, LLC.
