Probably one of the most common questions I get asked is, “How often should I have my carpets cleaned?” That is a great question! You may have heard the story about the woman who cut the ends of a ham off before placing it in the oven. One of her kids asked her why she did that, and after thinking about it for a while, responded, “I’m not sure, but my mom always cut the ends off of her ham before putting it in the oven, so there must be a good reason for it.” After a wonderful ham dinner, the woman called her mother on the phone and asked why she cut the ends off of the ham and she replied, “Because the whole ham was too big to fit in my small oven!”
Can you believe that over 80% of the population has never had their carpets cleaned? “GROSS!” you may say, and you’d be absolutely right. How often do you clean your clothes, bedding, and bath towels? Now the big question: When was the last time you had your carpets cleaned? Maybe a year, maybe two, maybe…..?
Similar to the moral of the ham story, many people do (or don’t do) what they grow up seeing and experiencing. So, in households that didn’t have their carpets cleaned very often, that becomes the tradition without question….
Study after study has shown that carpet is the largest filter in the home, trapping allergens, dust mite droppings (Yuck!), contaminants, body sweat and oils, soil, and even harmful gasses. Vacuums are designed to remove the surface portions of these, but not much beyond the fibers, nor does it clean (Why don’t we just vacuum our clothes and call it good?). Hot water extraction remains the method of choice for deep cleaning and extraction of these contaminants.
So, the question remains, “How often should you have your carpets professionally cleaned?” That depends on several factors such as soil and contaminant loads, if anyone in the home suffers from allergies, and what level of clean you desire for your overall home. Most studies recommend, as do most carpet manufacturers, that carpets be cleaned at least once a year. We have found that in Arizona, with the high amounts of dust and contaminants, that cleaning at least every 12 months makes a huge difference in the overall condition of the home’s environment. -Bill Mayer, CEO