Keep Your Carpet Clean, the Natural Way
By: Taylor Wells
We all want a beautiful, clean and safe home. For most of us, our family home is one of the biggest investments we will ever make, one we make a concerted effort to protect, maintain and nurture. Many of us also hope to see our homes appreciate in value over the years; however, the most critical aspect is ensuring our family, friends and loved ones have a clean home environment in which to live. With winter just around the corner, many of us will spend increasing amounts of time indoors as the weather cools. This combination of factors leads to one thing: taking better care of our indoor home environment.
When it comes to carpet, maintaining such an environment really begins with you. Your home’s carpet can act as a sort of gigantic filter, trapping all sorts of particles and pollutants. Keep in mind, pretty much everything you walk on (e.g. dirt, mud, grass or organic matter) is transferred to your home’s carpet via your feet. The fibers of your carpet can quickly become embedded with these particles. Additional factors, such as pet hair and dander and the airborne particles emitted from your HVAC system also come into play.
Many people don’t realize that simple dirt can wreak real damage to your home’s carpet. When examined under powerful microscopes, individual particles of dirt can be seen for what they really are: jagged, uneven and closely resembling a shard of shattered glass. Once these particles work their way into your carpet, the constant repetition of footsteps over time begin to grind dirt into the very fiber and padding of your carpet, cutting and weakening it.
The best way to help prevent this and protect your investment and indoor environment is to vacuum regularly. Regular vacuuming can help remove the majority of unwanted particles from your carpet. Also, do all you can to help keep unwanted pet stains and odors off your carpet. Over time, certain chemicals from pet waste can infiltrate the dyes used to make up carpet fiber color and significantly alter them.
It’s also important to follow the carpet manufacturer’s warranty guide. Most require professional cleaning at regular intervals to maintain warranty coverage. Forgoing cleaning and ignoring stains and blemishes can possibly void your warranty and lead to difficulty in removing such spots.
For certain stains, home remedies can be helpful and don’t necessarily involve strong chemicals or cleaners. You might be surprised how much can be accomplished with a bottle of vinegar and a few clean, white blotting towels. For a complete list of such home remedies, visit the Rainbow International® website at www.rainbowintl.com.
Another way to help ensure a cleaner indoor home environment is regular duct cleaning. As mentioned earlier, your home’s HVAC system can introduce significant amounts of material to your home associated with a variety of ailments (e.g. asthma or allergies). While duct cleaning won’t eliminate all such particles, it can help improve your home’s overall air quality. Think of your home’s HVAC system as its lungs; it pays to keep them clean!
Although fall weather encourages us to be outdoors, winter is not far off, so prepare your indoor environment now. A little preventive maintenance on your part can help extend the life and beauty of your home and improve its cleanliness the natural way.
For more information about the best way to help keep your home’s carpet and duct system clean and healthy, contact the Rainbow International franchise nearest you. Have a terrific fall!
