Would you invite the Abominable Snowman or the carrot-nosed Olaf from the cartoon Frozen into your house for tea? Likely not. They’d make big messes on your floor.
When you come into your house from the driveway in the winter, you may not be as chaotic as Olaf, but your shoes and boots will track water, slush and grit onto your floors or carpets.
Protect your fibers
The fibers in your carpet are sensitive. Salt, water and dirt from shoes get ground into carpet, especially during the winter months. As the water dries, chemicals from road treatment solutions can rise to the top and cause staining.2 In turn, sand and grit can fall down into your carpet and degrade your carpet fibers. If this goes on long enough, those fibers can be permanently stained. The backing that holds your carpet together can also be affected.1
What can you do?
That ounce of prevention
Well, first, it’s best to contain that mess before it starts. Ask your family and friends to take off their boots and shoes before they enter the house. Put a boot tray outside your most-used door to keep everything organized.
That pet paw solution
The weather recently got so cold in Colorado that many dog owners protected their pets’ paws with strap-on booties. While you may remove your dog’s booties before they come back indoors, you may not think to wipe off their feet every time they come in from the yard. Place towels by the door and make drying your pets’ paws a regular habit.
That vacuuming routine
In 2013, Electrolux (a major household appliance brand) conducted a global vacuuming survey. They asked 28,000 people from 23 countries how they felt about vacuuming.3 The company discovered several interesting tidbits:
- Koreans vacuum more often than anyone in the world; 29% vacuum at least once a day.
- Most people worldwide vacuum for less than an hour at a stretch.
- Thirty-eight percent of respondents vacuum in the morning; vacuuming in the evening is rare.
- Sixty-eight percent of respondents vacuum in casual outfits, 21% wear a track suit and 4% wear only their underwear. (If you must know, 2% reported vacuuming in their birthday suits.)
- Of the 18-30 year-old surveyed, 51% listen to music while vacuuming and 6% even dance, listen and vacuum at the same time.
Whatever your habits while dragging your Dyson or Hoover across the floor, your carpet will stay younger longer if you vacuum regularly. You don’t need to vacuum several times a day (11% of Koreans surveyed do), but once a week will keep your house fresher and your carpet newer longer.
That carpet cleaning schedule
As careful as we try to be, our carpets still take a beating in the winter. The family cat might break away before you can clean her paws. Your toddler might squirm out of your arms and run across the carpet in his snow boots. You might knock your hot cocoa over with your elbow while solving the latest Wordle puzzle in front of the fire.
A professional carpet cleaner can help you treat stains quickly with the right solution that won’t damage your carpets and area rugs. Regular professional cleaning (every 12 to 18 months) with high-temperature, truck-mounted steam cleaning equipment can lift grit from your carpets to prevent fiber staining. After the cleaning, your professional carpet cleaner can then apply a new coat of protectant to your carpet.
Your partners in clean
At A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning, we can help you keep your carpets fresh all year long. We are happy to answer any carpeting questions you might have and give you a free, written estimate without cost or obligation. Contact us at 720.344.2870 or use our online form to schedule a free consultation.
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