How to Keep Your Home’s Carpets Looking and Feeling Their Best

Carpeting is a great choice for homes with young children and especially babies, who may play on the floor and need something soft and comfortable underfoot. Carpeting also absorbs sound, so it's good for busy homes where you need some protection against the noise of foot traffic, televisions, dogs barking, and the like. Note a few tips you might consider, even before having new carpeting installed in your home, for keeping this flooring looking and feeling its best.

Type of vacuum cleaner

You may actually want to use a different type of vacuum cleaner on different types of carpeting, to keep the fibres and the nap in good condition. A rotating brush can be good for low-cut piles, as these brushes will help to pull the fibres back up and make them fluffy and soft, and not so worn down. For cut loop or berber carpeting, you may want to turn off the brush or beater bar of the vacuum cleaner, to keep the fibres from creating fuzz and tiny pills of fabric. This will ensure the carpeting lasts as long as possible without looking threadbare and thin.

Added padding

If carpeting feels very thin underfoot, it may be that you simply need to install rubber padding rather than foam, as rubber may hold its strength better than any other material. Rubber padding will help to absorb heavier footsteps, so that the carpeting may suffer less wear and tear and not get so worn down. Rubber padding also repels water, so the carpet's underside is less likely to get mildewed or otherwise damaged from water build-up and moisture.

Use high-quality products

Cheap carpet cleaning products may just drive stains deeper into the carpet, or leave a residue behind that then holds more dirt, dust, and other debris. This can mean more damage to your carpet over time. Invest in high-quality cleaning products and a professional carpet cleaning company when it's time to have the carpets shampooed instead.

Rake or broom the carpet

A carpet rake or broom is a type of tool with thick rubber teeth, which you pull over the carpet as if you're raking leaves. This tool will pull up dirt, dust, hair, and other debris that your vacuum cleaner will often leave behind, and will help to restore the nap and fibres of the carpet. This can also expose stains and marks that you would otherwise miss, so you can then treat them as needed and reduce the risk of having them become set-in and permanent.


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