Is Your Vacuum Wearing
Down Your Carpet?

Tips to Keep Carpet and Rugs
Looking Their Best

As it gets colder outside, nothing feels better under foot indoors than a nice, plush carpet or area rug, especially if you like to be barefoot when you’re home. If your carpet or rugs are looking a little worn or if they have seen better days, and you’re in the market for something new, we can help with that. We carry Mohawk, Karastan, Shaw, Tuftex, Southwind and Godfrey Hurst brands of carpet, which can be installed wall-to-wall or made into area rugs of any size.

Regardless of whether your carpet is old or new, we have some tips on how to care for it properly to keep it looking its best as long as possible. Our list includes some things you probably know (vacuum!), but another that may surprise you (keep professional cleaning receipts to protect your warranty).

1.     Regular vacuuming is necessary.

Once a week is the minimum, but more often is better. If you have lots of pets and activity in your house, several times a week is a good idea. Manufacturers suggest vacuuming high-traffic areas daily, medium-traffic areas twice a week, and the entire house once a week. It’s a lot of vacuuming, but the reality is that it will extend the life of your carpet. Most dirt and dust take the form of hard, dry particles, which can abrade or wear away the pile of carpet.

2.     Get a vacuum with adjustable height.

This is the most important feature of a vacuum, because it will allow it to work on a variety of carpet or rug constructions. If your vacuum is set too high above the surface, it can’t attract the dirt below. If it’s set too low, the beater bar will hit the carpet too hard, creating a fuzzy surface that will result in it looking worn and frayed. But keep in mind that there actually needs to be some space between the surface of the carpet and the beater bar to create enough suction to pick up dirt.

Karastan recommends allowing a vacuum’s beater bar to gently touch the carpet surface to avoid fuzzing, and when vacuuming premium or high pile soft carpet, using the highest height setting to avoid concentrated or sealed suction. For thick loop, casual frieze or long pile carpet, Karastan even suggests disengaging the beater bar and vacuuming with suction only.

3.     Have your carpet professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months.

Be sure the company is only using hot water extraction to clean the carpet or rug, which means no soap or product. That’s important for your warranty. So is keeping your receipts. If you have a problem with your carpet, the manufacturer will want to see the professional cleaning receipts.

If you need to spot clean your carpet, we recommend a cleaner called Tech. We sell it here at our store, and it works awesome! Just don't use too much, and make sure you get it cleaned off of the floor. 

4.     Remove heavy furniture dents using the edge of a coin.

That’s a tip from Mohawk Carpet. They also recommend using scissors to clip sprouts and snags. “Don’t pull on them,” Mohawk notes. “You might damage the carpet.” Here’s a tip from our designer: If you like to put lotion on your feet, be sure to put socks or slippers on before you walk on the carpet, otherwise the oil will cling to the carpet fibers and mat them down. One of the most worn areas of carpet is right outside the master bathroom.

Pattern Carpet Can Add Personality

If, like a lot of today’s homeowners, you have mostly hardwood throughout your house, you may still want to add carpet in the form of area rugs or a runner on the stairs, and pattern or textured carpet can be a great way to bring some personality to your space. It’s also a great way to disguise wear and tear on a high traffic area, like stairs, our designer pointed out.

We’ve added some photos of pattern carpet on stairs to show you how striking it can be, even in bold prints. If it still seems intimidating, stop into our flooring department. We can help you select just the right patterned carpet for your home so that it will become almost like an art element, rather than just something to protect your wood floor.