Carpet Care & Maintenance

Using carpets requires lots of care and maintenance. If they are not properly cleaned and protected, their natural sheen gradually degrades. Moreover, their durability cannot be prolonged unless certain below given steps are followed regularly and properly towards their maintenance:

Preventative Maintenance

 Protect your investment before problems occur.

New flooring represents a substantial investment. These proper steps assure that your carpet shall stay attractive for years to come.

Place walk

Walk-off mats should be used at the exterior of all entrances to absorb the soil and moisture. They can help trap the excessive dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that would otherwise be tracked into the home.

 Occasional moving of heavy furniture

Move heavy furniture's occasionally to avoid excessive pile crushing. You should also use floor protectors designed for carpets under the legs of tables, chairs, and other furniture to help distribute the weight. Do not use chairs or appliances with rollers or casters without a chair pad designed specifically for carpet which otherwise can cause heavy damage. While moving heavy wheeled furniture (pianos, buffets, etc.), prevent damage by placing a protective barrier of heavy cardboard or plywood between the wheels and the carpet.

 Reduce long period exposure to direct sunlight

Protect your carpet from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight with the help of blinds, shades, or awnings.

Vacuuming - An Important Step

Vacuum your Carpet thoroughly and frequently, particularly in high-traffic areas. Realize that walking on soiled carpet, allows the soil particles to work their way below the surface of the pile, where they are far more difficult to remove and can damage the carpet fibers. Frequent vacuuming, can remove these particles from the surface itself before they get trapped underneath.

For rooms with light traffic, vacuum the carpet traffic lanes twice a week and the entire area once a week. In areas with heavy traffic, vacuum the carpet traffic lanes daily and the entire area twice a week. Change the direction of vacuuming occasionally to help the pile to stand upright and reduce matting.

1.  Select the best vacuum for your type of carpet

At Chinar International, we recommend our customers to use vacuums with a rotating brush or combination of beater/brush bar that agitates the carpet pile and mechanically loosens soil for removal.

A Carpet with thick loop pile construction, particularly wool and wool-blend styles, may be sensitive to brushing or rubbing of the pile surface and may become fuzzy. For these products, we recommend a suction-only vacuum or a vacuum with an adjustable brush lifted away from the carpet so that it does not agitate the pile.

A vacuum with a beater/brush bar can be tested for excessive fuzzing in an inconspicuous location before regular use.

Pay attention to vacuum bags

Replaceable paper vacuum bags do a better job of trapping small particles than cloth bags. With cloth bags, the particles pass back into the room. High efficiency vacuum bags, also called micro filtration bags, trap even smaller microscopic particles (such as mold and mildew spores and dust mite byproducts) which are often found to be source of allergies. All vacuum bags should be checked often and replaced when half full.

 Check the belt and the setting

Make sure the belt is in good condition and that the brush or beater bar rotates when in contact with the carpet. To adjust the vacuum to the correct height setting for the carpet, raise the beater/brush bar to the highest setting and then lower it until it is in enough contact with the pile to slightly vibrate the carpet several inches away from the machine. Do not lower it enough to cause significant slowing of the motor.

Spot and Spill Removal - Let's face it, they just can't be avoided.

No carpet is stain proof, but since they are stain resistant you have time to act. Look below to see if the specific spill you're trying to remove is listed.

StainS	Cleaning MethOD
Acids	Detergent/white vinegar
Alcoholic beverages	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Ammonia or Alkali	Detergent/White vinegar
Ball-point pen ink	Methylated spirits or turpentine
Beer	Detergent/White vinegar
Bleach	Detergent/White vinegar
Blood	Detergent/White vinegar or Starch Paste
Burning cigarette	Brush off with a hard edge
Butter	Cleaning fluid
Candy	Detergent/White vinegar or scrape and vacuum
Cellulose paint	Acetone
Chewing gum	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Chocolate	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Coffee	Glycerine
Cosmetics	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Crayon	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid or scrape and vacuum
Egg	Detergent/White vinegar
Fat and Oil	Tissue and iron, then cleaning fluid (Do not use iron after solvent)
Fruit and juices	Detergent/White vinegar
Furniture polish	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Glue	Alcohol
Grass	Methylated spirits
Gravy	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Grease	Cleaning fluid or scrape & vacuum
Household cement	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Ice cream	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Ink	Water only
Iodine	Alcohol
Jam	Lukewarm water
Lipstick	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Medicine	Call a reputable cleaner
Metal polish	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Mildew	Call a reputable cleaner
Milk	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Mud	Detergent/White vinegar
Mustard	Detergent/White vinegar
Nail polish	Polish Remover*
Oils	Cleaning fluid
Paint	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Perfume	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Permanent ink	Call a reputable cleaner
Rust	Call a reputable cleaner
Salad dressing	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Sauces	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid*
Shoe polish	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid or scrape and vacuum
Soot	Vacuum, then cleaning fluid
Tar	Cleaning fluid
Tea	Detergent/White vinegar
Vomit	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid
Wax	Cleaning fluid or scrape & vacuum
Wine	Detergent/White vinegar or cleaning fluid

• Remove as much of food spills as possible by scraping the carpet gently with a spoon or a dull knife.
• Absorb wet spills as quickly as possible by blotting repeatedly with white paper or white cloth towels. Always blot; never rub or scrub abrasively, as it may result in a Fuzzy Area. When blotting, work from the outer edge in toward the center of the spot to avoid spreading the spill.
• Remove the stain using one of the cleaning items - Detergent Solution, Vinegar Solution, Ammonia Solution, Non-oily Nail Polish Remover, Chewing Gum Remover and Spot Remover.
• Rinse the cleaned carpet area with water to remove detergent residue, as it may become sticky and cause rapid re-soiling.
• Absorb any remaining moisture by placing several layers of white towels over the spot and weighing them down with a heavy object.

Carpet Care: Overall Cleaning Tips
Vacuuming alone won't protect your carpet:

Even though vacuuming can remove most of the soil, it is also necessary to clean your carpet on a regular basis to remove the oily, stickiness that vacuums cannot remove. These result from cooking vapors, air pollution, and tracked-in dirt from outside. The particles of oil and soil deposited on carpet fibers can cause gradual but a significant dullness to colors. If this type of oil layer is allowed to accumulate, it begins to attract and hold the dry soil in them. But it’s better if the carpet is cleaned, before it becomes too unsightly.
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What cleaning system should you use?

Choosing the proper cleaning system is important. Some systems may leave residues which accelerates re-soiling and defeats the whole purpose of cleaning. The recommendations below if followed properly will help prolong the time between cleaning for the carpet.

1. At Chinar International, we recommend the hot water extraction system

Research indicates that the hot water extraction system provides the best capability for cleaning. This system is commonly referred to as ‘Steam Cleaning’, although no steam is actually generated. The process consists of spraying a solution of water and detergent into the carpet pile and recovering the water and soil with a powerful vacuum into a holding tank. This can be done from a truck-mounted unit outside the home with only the hose and wand brought inside or by a portable system brought into the home.

2. Professional or do-it-yourself

It is to your advantage to use Professional Carpet Cleaners because their experience enables them to do a better job than you can do yourself. Their equipments have more extraction power than the rental units available to individuals which helps the carpet dry more quickly. Good professionals also know the usage of the equipment better, know the proper cleaning agents for the situation at hand, and recognize the differences in fibers and carpet construction.