What You Should Know

How often should you clean your carpet.

       Most carpet manufactures recommend every 12-24 months.  This is because the sand that makes up the wonderful state of Michigan gets tracked in and settles to the bottom of the yarn.  As you continue to walk on it the abrasive sand is sanding at the primary backing of the carpet leading to delamination and prematurely making it look ugly. 

       To prolong the life of your carpet, weekly vacuuming with a quality vacuum cleaner is strongly encouraged.  We use and highly recommend the Kirby Home Care System.  This carpet was cleaned every year but vacuumed with a supermarket vacuum.

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 Which Method of Carpet Cleaning is Best?

        There are basically three ways to clean your carpet, hot water extraction, dry foam, and dry compound each one has its place.  Dry foam and/or dry compound cleaning are good for quick interim or appearance cleaning.  For instance your carpet has light traffic lane and your mother-in-law called and said she is coming to visit tomorrow. That is when those methods work.

        If your carpet needs a thorough cleaning, hot water extraction (steam cleaning)is best.  For us clean means the removal of foreign matter from the carpet.

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Can You Do It With a Rental Machine?

         Rental machines work really well for emergency spot removal and for cleaning on a regular basis like every two or three months.  If there is a traffic lane showing they can still do the job but it will take you longer and stay wet longer.  So you will have to answer in the affirmative the questions.  Do I want my back to hurt?  Do I have enough time to clean it properly?  A half cleaned carpet smells like wet dog.  Can the room be in disarray for up to 24-36 hours?  Do I want my carpet to be wet for 24-36 hours?  It can be with a rental machine.  You have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your carpet do you want to protect it with an underpowered over wetting rental machine?

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 Cleaning Does Not Cause Your Carpet to get dirty quicker!

        Oh how many times I have heard people say that it does.  Years ago a lot of residue would be left on the carpet causing the resoiling issue.  Today the cleaners that are used rinse out much much better.

        Think of your carpet as a bucket that is designed to hide dirt.  Now when that bucket gets full you call to have your carpets cleaned.  Because the carpet is now full it is almost impossible to get all of the dirt out.  What seems like the carpet is getting dirty sooner is really a bucket having to fill up part way instead of all the way.   By having your carpets cleaned on a regular basis, like once a year, your carpet will stay looking beautiful for a very long time.

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Why Hire A Pro?   Consumers Report did a study of DIY carpet machines.  These machines work great for spotting and spiffing up.  But notice the red tinge in the carpet after they went over it 8 times with their best machine. http://abc7chicago.com/technology/consumer-reports-carpet-cleaner-machines/3351587/