The Secret to Keeping Carpet Beautiful
Last week we were in a client's home cleaning her eight-year-old white carpet. The traffic lanes were beginning to look a little dull and ugly.
We usually clean her carpet once every year. Otherwise, such a light color of carpet may not last eight years. I gave her a few recommendations on how she could make her carpet last a little longer.
I told her to continue on her cleaning schedule, but also apply a Scotchgard type fabric protector. We had recommended fabric protection to her many times before, but she always declined having it applied.
She gave me a puzzled look and said, "This carpet was supposed to have been Scotchgarded when I bought it. But look at it. It's starting to look ugly."
"You're right," I said. "Your carpet was protected when it was new."
"The problem is, the protector begins to wear out after a few years. If your carpet never had Scotchgard applied, it wouldn't even look as good as it does now!"
She smiled and agreed. We applied the protector that day with the hopes of helping her carpet last a few years longer. Fabric protector not only helps resist spills and stains, but also keeps dirt from clinging to your traffic lanes so vacuuming is more efficient. This greatly prevents premature wear on your traffic lanes.
What would your carpet, rugs, and furniture look like if a fabric protector was never applied? Many pieces of upholstery are cotton, so let's take a white cotton t-shirt for example. If you wore your t-shirt every day for 6 months, then washed it with the best detergent in the best washing machine, would it still be white?
Absolutely NOT.
Your furniture, rugs, and carpet are the same fabric as your clothes. The big difference is that fabric protector is applied at the mill. Now, in all honesty we can't replicate the exact application process because the mill applies the protector and bakes it in. But, the protection process we use is 75% as effective. Every little bit of protection you can give your expensive textiles helps tremendously.
The Scotchgard and Dupont companies recommend their protector be reapplied every two years to keep your carpet stain resistant. Unfortunately, there are many uneducated carpet cleaning companies in our area that either don't apply the right protector, or water the protector down so your textiles get very little benefit.
In our rug cleaning shop we get many wool rugs that have never had protector applied. Especially hand made rugs. They don't use fabric protectors in the countries they are made in. So, even simple stains can be permanent if they are not immediately removed. We always recommend you have us apply a fabric protector to your rugs when they are cleaned.
For the small cost of applying a fabric protection, you can add years of life to your textiles. A few dollars now can save you thousands in the long run.
Get an estimate now by clicking here or call us at 352.669.1540
