Professional Carpet Cleaning: How Often Should You Schedule it?

If you have carpet in your home, especially wall-to-wall carpeting, it is important to maintain the carpet appearance with proper care. Other than routine vacuuming and removing stains with a manufacturer-approved stain remover, professional cleaning services are an excellent way to keep your carpets looking and smelling fresh for as long as possible. How often you should schedule professional carpet cleaning depends on a few factors.

Do You Have Kids?

Let’s face it: Children are wonderful at making messes. Whether it’s cracker crumbs, or mud from soccer cleats, they know how to get carpets dirty in a hurry. If you have any kids, you may need to schedule more frequent deep cleaning to stay on top of the dirt they bring into your home. In addition, consider upping your vacuuming game to keep messes at bay.

Do You Have Pets?

Those who have pets love their fur babies. However, pets contribute to dirty carpets as much, or more, than children. Pets in general can make your house have a certain musky scent and accidents, even when cleaned up promptly with the proper cleaner, can leave a lingering odor. Keeping in mind that you can go “nose blind” to familiar smells, you will want to consider having your carpets cleaned more frequently, to stay on top of any pet odor.

Do You Have a lot of Foot Traffic?

Foot traffic can do a number on your carpets. Along with potentially dragging the outdoors in, feet can trample and flatten carpet fibers. If you have a lot of people coming and going, you will want to pay attention to your carpets, especially in high traffic areas. Professional cleaning can efficiently lift dirt and revive carpet fibers at the same time.

Do You Work Outside the Home?

It may seem like an odd question but consider how much time you spend at home. If you work all day, hit the gym or run errands after work, return home to eat dinner, and then go to bed, you probably don’t spend much time getting your carpets dirty. You are not home long enough, most days. Unless you have some of the above mess-makers in your life, you can cut back on your professional cleaning schedule.

How Often Should You Schedule Carpet Cleaning?

The short answer to this question is that it depends on your lifestyle. If you have kids, pets, and a lot of foot traffic, you will want to schedule a professional carpet cleaning quarterly, at minimum. If you notice excess dirt, smells or wear, you may want to consider having them cleaned more often. On the other hand, if you are single or part of an empty-nest couple who isn’t home much, you can cut back on the frequency.

Perhaps you are just considering getting some carpets to make your home a cozy sanctuary. Now that you know how frequently you will need to clean them, visit our helpful staff at DeGraaf Interiors. We can show you samples, talk through the details of carpet types, make recommendations based on your decor and lifestyle, and answer any questions that you might have.