Should you clean carpets yourself?

In order to arrive at an intelligent answer to this question, we need to first of all, find out what may be in, or on the carpet to cause it to be unclean or unhealthy, and what procedures may be necessary to get the carpet clean.

What may be on the carpet

Here are some possibilities:
Gravel, grease, grime, grit, gum, hair, skin scales, lint, industrial waste and pollutants, mud, pet stains, pollens, sand, scum, soil, soot, asphalt, car exhaust, dirt, dust, make-up, food particles, ink, tar, smoke, blood, urine, feces, and vomit.

There might also be organisms such as fleas, carpet beetles, ticks, lice, mold, fungus, bacteria and all kinds of germs, that can live, breed, multiply and deposit the product of their metabolism in your carpet.

These foreign substances that mar the appearance of your carpet and make your interior home environment unhealthy, are either brought into your home on the feet of people or animals, or is generated and dispersed into the air while cooking. They may also of course, come from the normal, continuous shedding of human or animal skin scales.

Three types

These materials may be classified into three types. Insoluble, Water soluble, and Other solvent soluble. Insoluble contaminants usually make up 50 to 75 % of foreign matter in your carpet. It generally consists of material such as sand, grit, hair, fibers, etc., which will not dissolve in water or other ordinary solvents. That is why frequent vacuuming is so important.

Water soluble soils are derived mainly from food or drink residues and similar fluids. These are also fairly easy to remove from your carpet.

Soils which are only soluble in other chemicals, present a more difficult challenge. These may have come from deposits of grease, tar, asphalt, oils, cosmetics, ink, or body fluids, and vary widely in chemical properties. Most are acidic in nature and composition, but some may be basic, or even neutral complexes.

What is the source?

When considering how to remove them from the carpet therefore, it is necessary to determine, if practical, where they came from, what they are, and what combination of chemicals will be most effective.
Carpet cleaning therefore involves a number of different procedures and processes.

How to keep carpets clean

To maintain a carpet that is clean in appearance and free from substances that may be deleterious to your health, the following should be done:

Place wipe-off mats at the entrance ways, inside and outside, to trap and remove material that might otherwise be tracked unto your carpet. Clean these mats often.

Vacuum frequently. Do this every day if possible, but at least once per week. Check the vacuum cleaner filters and belts, and empty the dust collection bag often.

Clean up spills immediately, while they are still moist. Flush with water and use a clean white towel and blot up as much as possible before it dries up or becomes fixed to the carpet fibers.. Do not wipe from side to side as this may only smear the stain or cause it to spread more.

Clean up apparent light soiling frequently – every 4 to 12 weeks, before the staining is ground into the carpet, especially in traffic lanes, at entrance ways, before couches, and in other heavily used areas. This may be done with a small portable carpet steamer.

Call in a professional

Call in a professional carpet cleaning company to remove those difficult stains and to do a deep steam cleaning every 12 to 18 months, in order to get out that deep down crud, and satisfy the carpet manufacturers’ warranty requirements.

Evidently, it is smart to clean carpets yourself – up to a point!

Victor Nugent is Owner and President of AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. with over 10 years experience in the Carpet Cleaning business.

For More Information Call