Five Step Carpet Care of Asheville NC provides rug and carpet cleaning services at the most affordable price in Asheville NC.

Tips for Hiring a GOOD Carpet Cleaner

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asheville, hiring a good carpet cleaner

Hiring a good carpet cleaner can pose a difficult choice, to say the least. Since carpet cleaning is something most people only do once every couple of years, it can be hard to maintain a relationship with your carpet cleaner like you do with a mechanic or lawn care service. And with so many options on the market, it’s hard to know what type of service to go with. To make matters worse, many carpet cleaning companies make it nearly impossible to find out basic information through their website or promotional materials, such as whether they use bleach or soap products in their cleaning solutions. And then there are always those horror stories about carpets getting completely ruined by incompetent cleaners—or, even worse, a child or pet becoming ill from exposure to the carpet after cleaning.

Thankfully, there are ways to limit the possibility of something going horribly wrong when you are hiring a carpet cleaner. It’s a fairly simple matter of doing a small amount of homework before making your decision. Here’s a quick list of items to check up on for each company you consider.

  1. Find out how long the company has been in business. While a shorter length of time in business shouldn’t necessarily disqualify a carpet cleaning service (everyone has to start somewhere), it is important to determine how much experience the company has. You don’t want to be taken in by a fly-by-night company that will clean your carpets today and go out of business next week. If the company you’re considering has been around for less than a year or two, find out what experience the owner and employees had prior to the company’s opening, and check online for reviews and testimonials.
  2. Learn what type of equipment and carpet cleaning solutions they use. There are all types of carpet cleaning systems and equipment. You should be able to fairly easily determine what kind your prospective carpet cleaner uses by looking on their website. If they don’t have a website, that might be a warning sign. If the information you’re looking for isn’t readily available on the website, the owner or representative should answer your question when you ask without hesitation.
  3. Pricing considerations. There are a lot of things in life that you can skimp on, trying to get the absolute lowest price. Carpet cleaning is not one of them. An unbelievably low price usually means unbelievable incompetence. On the other hand, if the price seems way too expensive, you would probably do well to keep shopping. Do the math. Does it seem reasonable that a company could stay in business charging the price that you were quoted, without cutting corners?
  4. Make sure the company is bonded and insured. No matter how good a carpet cleaning service is, no one is immune to accidents. As with any service provider doing work in your home, make absolutely sure the service you choose is bonded and insured…just in case.
  5. Check Reviews. It’s the age of information! If you can’t find reviews of a service company online, chances are they’re either brand-spanking new, or they are going to great lengths to keep reviews off the internet. Good companies LOVE reviews. Even if there’s an occasional nasty one, the good ones more than make up for it by bringing new business to their door. Free sites like Yelp! and membership sites like Angie’s List will show you reviews of all the relevant service providers in your area. But Googling the name of the company you’re researching is also an effective way to find reviews.
  6. How do the company representatives treat you? Even if a company passes all five of the tests above, you want to make sure they’re going to treat you with respect and consideration. When you call or email the company, do they get back to you within a reasonable time frame? Are they friendly and courteous? Do they answer your questions honestly? If the company passes this final test, you’ve probably found yourself a keeper.

We hope this list helps you through the sometimes frustrating task of choosing a carpet care company. If you live in the Asheville, NC area, you are welcome to put us to the test! Peruse our blog and website, and feel free to call us at 828.772.1824 or get in touch through the contact form with any additional questions you might have.

Best of the Five Step Blog!

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Greetings, readers! Spring has finally sprung in Asheville, and we are loving the warm weather. Hope you’re enjoying it, too!

This week, we thought we’d do a round-up of all the best and most informative blog posts we’ve published on the Five Step blog over the last year. From great before-and-after photos to the importance of maintaining a vacuuming schedule in your home or business, we’ve touched on a lot of topics over the last twelve months. So, without further ado, here are our 8 best blog posts from 2015!

Green Carpet Cleaning — What are the Five Steps?

oriental rug cleaning, carpet cleaning, five steps, green carpet cleaningIn this post, we tell you how we do what we do. How do we get carpets and rugs so clean, without leaving behind toxic residues or harming the environment? Check out this post to find out.

 

 

 

 

How Often Should I Vacuum?

how often should i vacuumHouses don’t come with instruction books. Many people ask us, “how often should I be vacuuming my carpets?” But there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on many factors, such as what kind of carpet, quantity and type of traffic, and other variables. So we created this informative blog post to help you answer that question.

 

 

 

 

 

How Often Should I Have My Carpets Cleaned?

asheville, how often should i have my carpet cleanedTo follow up on the post about how often to vacuum, we did a post on how often you should have your carpets professionally cleaned. This, too, can vary a lot from person to person, home to home, or business to business. But taking into account the factors explained in this post can help you make an informed decision!

 

 

 

 

How Can I Protect My Carpet?

carpet careCarpeting for your home is a big investment, and you want to make sure it has a long life and remains in good, vibrant condition. There are ways to protect your carpet to ensure a longer life. This post goes through a few ways to keep your carpets maintained and cared for.

 

 

How Healthy Is Your Home?

Carpet bacteria mold mitesEver wonder what kind of microscopic critters might be hiding in your home? This post takes you through a list of health hazards that could be present in your floors, and tells you what you can do to minimize the risks.

 

 

 

 

Upholstery Cleaning: Rental or Pro?

upholstery cleaning rentalThis is a great article to consult if you’re trying to decide whether to hire professional upholstery cleaners or to rent a machine and do it yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

DIY Carpet Cleaning: Should You Risk It?

DIY Carpet CleaningIn this post, we offer a non-biased (well, maybe only slightly biased) breakdown of the factors you should consider when deciding whether to have your carpets professionally cleaned, or to DIY it.

 

 

 

 

Best of the Before-and-After Pics

oriental rug cleaningWe publish a lot of before-and-after photos of our work. But this one is our absolute favorite. To the left, you can see what this fine rug looked like BEFORE we cleaned it. Click over and see what it looked like AFTER! Even we had a hard time believing our eyes, and we do this every day!

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s it. We hope you enjoyed this round-up of our best blog posts from 2015. If you live in the Asheville NC area, or elsewhere in western NC, and you need carpet, rug, tile, slate, upholstery, or wood floor cleaning services, we hope you’ll call us at 828.772.1824 or click over to our handy contact form to get in touch with us today.

Use this Carpet Cleaning Checklist to Prepare for Your Cleaning!

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carpet cleaning checklist

Sometimes our customers ask what they can do to prepare for their carpet cleaning. There’s not much you need to do—we’re pretty self sufficient. But there are a couple of simple preparations you can make to help ensure that your carpet cleaning goes smoothly and quickly.

Here’s a carpet cleaning checklist that you can use to prepare on the day of your carpet cleaning.

  1. Schedule your carpet cleaning for a day when you won’t need to use the room. For instance, if you’re having the carpets cleaned in your den, and your son’s soccer team comes over on Thursdays after practice for pizza in the den, don’t schedule your carpet cleaning on a Thursday. Once the carpet has been cleaned, keep your family members and pets out of the room for a minimum of 3-4 hours to allow the carpet to dry.
  2. Pick up small items. Before the crew arrives, go through the room and do a quick pick-up. Move toys, magazine racks, sit-arounds, and other small items out of the room.
  3. Remove breakables from the room. Our professional staff is very careful and conscious when it comes to the safety of your belongings. When using our equipment, we always try to remain conscious of our surroundings to prevent any mishaps. But, better safe than sorry. If you have fragile items hanging on the walls, for instance, it might be a good idea to get them out of the way before your scheduled carpet cleaning.
  4. Get cats and dogs secured in another area of the house. Our carpet cleaning solutions are non-toxic and totally safe for you and your pets, but dogs and cats can get in the way when we’re cleaning. Or they might be frightened of our equipment. So the best bet is to get your pets secured in another room while the carpet crew is at your home.
  5. Move heavy furniture out of the way. We will move smaller items or furniture that can be slid from one side of the room to another, but please move all heavy items out of the room before our arrival. Or, our strapping crew can move your heavy furniture for you for an extra charge.
  6. Vacuum if you want—or don’t. Some of our clients prefer to vacuum the carpet before we arrive, but it’s not necessary. We will vacuum prior to cleaning.
  7. Prepare to be amazed! Your carpets are going to look GREAT after we’re done. If you’re prone to knee-weakness when you’re pleasantly surprised, you might want to get a chair ready to collapse in!

And that’s it! We’ll take care of the rest.

We hope you found this carpet cleaning checklist helpful. If you are looking for a sustainable, green carpet cleaning service in the Asheville, NC area, contact us or give us a call at 828.772.1824 today!

 

 

Cigarette Smoke Odor Removal Asheville

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cigarette smoke odor removal asheville

Over the years, we’ve had many ex-smokers call us for carpet or rug cleaning. They’ve taken a huge step to improve their lives and their health by quitting cigarettes, but their houses still smell like old, stale smoke. For a newly-quit smoker, it doesn’t take long before the odor becomes unbearable, and that’s when they give Five Step Carpet Care a call. We’re the best source for cigarette smoke odor removal in Asheville.

Cigarette smoke can leave behind powerful, unpleasant odors that just won’t go away no matter how much you air out the room with fans, or deodorize the carpets. Even worse, it is now known that exposure to this “third-hand” cigarette smoke can pose severe health risks, even after months of not smoking in the room. Infants and young children are especially susceptible. Studies have shown that even small amounts of third hand smoke exposure are associated with respiratory disorders, developmental delays and reduced IQ. So even months or years after adults quit smoking, their children or grandchildren may still be subjected to health risks from exposure to the residues left behind in carpets, upholstery and porous surfaces in the home.

So if you’ve taken the momentous step to quit smoking, congratulations! You’ve made a really smart decision, and your hard work and commitment to quit is commendable. Your next step should be to remove those stinky and harmful odors and residues from your home. One step most ex-smokers take is to repaint the walls. But just as important, if not more so, is doing something about your upholstery, carpets and rugs. Some people, when faced with this challenge, understandably think that the only solution is to rip all the floor coverings out and replace them. But that’s not the case! Good professional carpet, rug and upholstery cleaning CAN eliminate both the unpleasant odors AND the harmful residues left behind by years of cigarette smoke.

In addition to helping out ex-smokers, we’ve also cleaned carpets for homeowners who purchased a house in which the former occupants smoked cigarettes, and for landlords whose tenants smoked in the house. Whatever the reason, if you’ve got a lingering cigarette smoke odor problem in your carpets, rugs or upholstery, we can help! If you live in Asheville or the surrounding area, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or use the contact form to get in touch with us today!

Clean Carpets for the Holidays!

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christmas gifts

Are you planning to entertain this holiday season? Preparing the home for a holiday party, or just for family to visit for Christmas, can be a major source of stress for many homeowners. We get it. You’re busy decking the halls and fa-la-la-la-la-ing. With all the presents to buy, meals to plan, and decorations to put up, there’s often little time left for the deep cleaning you want to give your house before the guests arrive.

But there is one thing you can go ahead and check off your list, without having to worry that it gets done properly, and that’s clean carpets and rugs. Our friendly team of professionals can get your carpets looking like new in short order. And with our area rug pick-up service, you can get your area rugs, or even your fine oriental or Persian rugs cleaned without setting foot out of your house. We’ve even been known to make it to our clients’ homes in weather conditions that stop the mailman! Instead of trudging through the wintry weather, you can snuggle up by the fire with a glass of hot mulled cider and a good book. That’ll help you get into the Christmas spirit!

Carpet Cleaning NC

Neither rain nor snow can stop Five Step Carpet Care!

And even if you’re not planning to host any get togethers this holiday season, having vibrant, clean carpets and rugs in your home is a great way to start the new year off fresh, so consider making carpet cleaning a New Years resolution for your home!

If you live in Asheville, NC or the surrounding areas and are looking for a top-quality, professional carpet cleaning service, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or drop us a line via our contact form. There’s still time to get those carpets and rugs spotless for the holidays!

 

DIY Carpet Cleaning: Should You Risk It?

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DIY Carpet Cleaning

In an attempt to save money, many homeowners choose to clean their carpets and rugs on their own, rather than hiring a professional to do the work. But is doing it yourself worth the potential risk to your carpet investment?

DIY, or “do-it-yourself” carpet cleaning is discouraged by most carpet manufacturers because improper cleaning solutions and techniques may cause problems that could void the warranty on the carpet. Common issues that can arise from improper DIY carpet cleaning are mold and mildew growth, backing separation and fading or discoloration.

Overwetting is the most prevalent of these DIY carpet cleaning blunders. If you overwet the carpet, it will take much longer to dry, potentially leading to fungal growth and seepage into your subfloors. But it can be difficult for a homeowner to calculate how much water and/or detergent to use, or how long to leave a steam cleaner in position. Making a mistake during this phase of the carpet cleaning process can be very costly indeed, which is why the majority of homeowners choose to hire a professional carpet cleaning service with a good reputation for the job.

Improperly formulated carpet cleaning solutions are another culprit behind DIY carpet cleaning disasters. Solutions that are not formulated correctly for your carpet may strip the carpet of its stain-resistant treatment. Or the solution may contain bleach or even optical brighteners that literally dye your carpet instead of just removing stains. Some improper formulations can also destroy the fiber of your carpet, leaving it looking matted or frayed.

Consumer Reports has found that when it comes to carpet cleaning, pros do it best. Though it may cost a bit more than renting a machine from your local supermarket, the benefits in knowledge and assurance that you get from having someone experienced do the work far outweigh the extra cost.

So, the message here is Clean Your Own Carpets At Your Own Risk. If you do choose to clean your own carpets, you should take the time to do your research first. Find out exactly what type of cleaning or detergents your manufacturer recommends, and then follow the directions of the detergent or steam cleaner precisely. Always spot-test an out-of-the-way corner of your carpet before cleaning it, to prevent discoloration issues. If you are renting steam cleaning equipment to perform the cleaning, ask the rental provider to demonstrate its use before taking it home. Listen for out-of-the-ordinary clunking noises and check the test carpet for fraying and loose fibers.

If, on the other hand, you want to forego the risk, give your local professional carpet care expert a call. If you live in the Asheville NC area and are looking for quality carpet cleaning services, give Five Step Carpet Care a call at (828) 772-1824 or use our contact form to get in touch with us today. You might be surprised at how much you can save by hiring professionals to get the job done!

 

 

The Best Carpet Cleaners Asheville NC

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Asheville Rug Cleaners | Five Step Carpet CareWhy do our clients think we’re the best carpet cleaners in Asheville NC? We could tell you all about how effective our cleaning process is, or how friendly and professional our staff is, or how our cleaning solutions are all 100% green and safe for your home. We could tell you it’s our industry knowledge that gives us a superior edge, or how customer service is what makes us shine, and all of that would be true! But we think you’d rather hear it from our customers themselves.

So we’re devoting this blog post to some of the great testimonials we’ve received from WNC homeowners and businesses over the years. Take a look at what our customers have to say about Five Step Carpet Care!

 

“Scott Finney and the Five Step Carpet Care team are hands down the best carpet, rug and upholstery service I’ve ever used. Their customer service, quality of cleaning and punctuality are consistently first in class. I’ve used them for my home as well as my health care office and it’s important to me and my patients that they use green products that are safe for the environment. Their philosophy that the customer comes first is clear in every aspect of working with this company and I’ve referred them to numerous coworkers and friends. Thanks Five Step for making my life easier and my house and office smell better!”

Dr. Larry Golson of Envision Eyecare

 

“Top notch service from the first phone call – to walking in our front door. Scott was so personable and made the whole experience easy. He was professional and his work is flawless. Very happy customer!”

Juliet, Homeowner

 

“We love Five Step Carpet Care and depend on Scott and his team for all our carpet cleaning needs (which were considerable with a particular feline companion we had… we’d highly recommend them to any and everyone!”

Mitchell, Homeowner

 

If you need carpet cleaners in Asheville NC, give us a call at 828.772.1824 or use our contact form to get in touch with us today. Or if you just want to keep in touch, go like our Facebook page for carpet care news (and, okay, a few cat memes).

How Can I Protect My Carpet?

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carpet care

This post is the third and final installment in a series on implementing a carpet maintenance program for your home or business. In Part 1, we talked about vacuuming frequency. Part 2 discussed how often you should get your carpets professionally cleaned. In this post, we’ll take a look at some easy ways to protect your carpet and mistakes to avoid to prolong your carpet’s life and to increase your enjoyment of it.

What can I do to protect my carpet? This is a question we hear from customers all the time. Luckily, there are several simple things you can do to keep your carpet clean, lush and beautiful for years to come. Below is a list of do’s and don’ts that will help you maintain your carpets, whether in a home or workplace setting.

DO:

  • Provide welcome or “walk-off” mats at ground level entry areas to catch and contain dust and soil tracked in from outside.
  • Clean these mats regularly.
  • (In residences) Ask family members and guests to remove shoes at the door.
  • Implement a regular vacuuming schedule (read our post on vacuuming frequency to decide how often you should vacuum.)
  • Vacuum room edges and under furniture every second or third time you vacuum.
  • Brush and bathe pets regularly to reduce hair, dander and dirt from being absorbed by your carpets.
  • Avoid eating juicy or sticky foods in carpeted rooms.
  • Serve children beverages in cups with tight-fitting lids.
  • Act fast to remove a stain. The longer you wait, the more opportunity the stain has to set in the fibers and absorb into the carpet padding. This can lead to odor and mold growth.
  • Keep a small remnant of your carpet for testing new spot cleaners or other cleaning solutions before using on the installed carpet. Some cleaners can damage the color or texture of certain carpets.
  • Have your carpet professionally cleaned periodically. (Read our post on carpet cleaning frequency to decide how often.)

DON’T

  • Vigorously scrub a carpet stain. It is ineffective and will push the stain further down into the carpet, while fraying the carpet fibers. Blot instead.
  • Use the wrong cleaning product. To avoid permanent damage or discoloration, thoroughly read the manufacturer’s instructions on the product’s label to ensure compatibility.
  • Use deodorant powders incorrectly. Deodorizing powders can leave gunky residue on your carpet, which can become more and more noticeable over time with repeated use. Remember, deodorants are not a substitution for professional cleaning!
  • Use too much cleaner. Oversaturating your carpet with cleaning solution can lead to permanent damage and can allow dirt-attracting residue to build up. Check the label on the product to determine how much to use.
  • Rent faulty carpet cleaning equipment. Rental equipment is frequently damaged and unfortunately, it is often not maintained properly. Sometimes rental machines can do more harm than good.

With a little bit of knowledge and planning, you can get the most out of your carpet for many years to come! We hope you found this series of blog posts helpful and informative. If you live in western North Carolina and want to discuss one-time or regularly scheduled carpet cleaning for your home or business, give us a call at (828) 772-1824.

How Often Should I Have My Carpets Cleaned?

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asheville, how often should i have my carpet cleaned

This post is Part 2 in an informational series on carpet maintenance. In the first post, “How Often Should I Vacuum?”, we discussed the reasons for regular vacuuming and considerations on determining how frequently to vacuum. Today, we’ll talk about professional carpet cleaning.

“How often should I have my carpet cleaned?” This is probably one of our most commonly asked questions. And it’s not a simple one to answer. Just as with vacuuming (or really any home or office maintenance regimen, for that matter), the answer will vary from place to place and person to person. But there are a few factors to consider that should help you plan an effective cleaning schedule for your home or business.

Most people don’t think about getting their carpet cleaned unless it is visibly dirty or has noticeable odors. But even if your carpet doesn’t exhibit any stains or odors, it is still important to have it cleaned periodically in order to protect the health of your home’s inhabitants or your business’ employees and customers.

As we discussed last week, carpet absorbs and traps pollutants over time. Some of these, like dust, pollen and fungi, are pretty easily combated with regular vacuuming. But others, like bacteria, viruses, chemicals and pesticides require professional cleaning to extract.

Here are some factors to consider when implementing a cleaning schedule for your home or place of business:

  1. Family residences and office buildings should stick to a regular cleaning schedule of every six to twelve months for the higher traffic areas. Lower traffic areas such as guest bedrooms or conference rooms may need less frequent cleaning.
  2. Restaurants and nursing homes should have carpets cleaned more frequently in order to maintain a healthy environment. Monthly cleaning is recommended.
  3. Schools should have carpets cleaned on an every three to six month schedule.
  4. Day Care Centers: Young children are built low to the ground and attract a lot more dirt and dust than adults, as well as bacteria and viruses. They are also much more susceptible to contagious diseases and respiratory problems due to poor air quality. Therefore, it is recommended that daycare centers have carpet cleaning done weekly.
  5. Special Circumstances: If the humidity is high in your area, or if you live in a place with a lot of dust, you may want to consider more frequent cleaning. Same goes for homes with pets. Ground floor rooms will require more frequent cleaning than upstairs rooms. Schools, nursing homes, medical facilities and daycare centers will want to commit to rigorous weekly cleaning when dealing with epidemic disease.

Hopefully, this brief guide will help you make informed decisions when implementing a carpet cleaning schedule. Be sure to check out our next installment in this series, “What Can I Do to Protect My Carpet?” in two weeks.

 

How Often Should I Vacuum?

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how often should i vacuum

We clean a lot of carpets, and there are a few questions we get asked regularly. One is:  How often should I vacuum? Another is: How often should I have my carpet cleaned? And finally: What can I do to protect my carpet?

To try and help you gauge the answers for yourself, we decided to write a three-part series on these topics. This post, Part 1, will deal with vacuuming frequency, and Part 2 will deal with professional carpet cleaning frequency. Part 3 will detail some steps you can take aside from vacuuming and professional cleaning to protect your carpet and prolong its life.

We install carpet in our homes and businesses in order to enhance our quality of life and improve our aesthetic surroundings. There are other benefits to the carpet as a floor-covering, however; namely, it reduces noise and vibration and helps insulate against cold air rising up from beneath the floor. These are especially popular reasons for installing carpet in office and retail businesses.

But the carpet is also an absorber of matter. It attracts and traps unwanted substances over time, whether these substances are visible or not. In other words, even though your carpet may not be visibly stained or dirty, it can still hold pollutants as a result of normal use. These pollutants can include soils, fibers, and atmospheric dust, as well as allergens such as pollen, fungi, mycotoxins, microscopic mites. If you have pets, you can add pet hair and dander to the list as well. Happily, regular vacuuming is moderately to highly effective at removing these pollutants. (Bacteria and viruses can also hide in your carpet, but these are more difficult to extract with just vacuuming. We’ll deal with them in our next post.)

So, how often should you vacuum? Well, it depends. Not only is the answer going to vary from home to home and office to office, but it can also vary from room to room and season to season.

Once a week will probably be sufficient for a moderate-traffic room with no extra considerations such as pets, children or high humidity. Light traffic rooms may need less, and high traffic rooms may need more. You can determine your carpet care maintenance program by evaluating the list below.

Some factors to keep in mind when deciding how often to vacuum are:

  1. Frequency of use: is the room a high traffic area, like a family room, waiting room or hallway? These sorts of rooms will need more frequent vacuuming than low traffic areas like guest bedrooms and conference rooms.
  2. Children: Do you have children living in your home, or does your business cater to a lot of children, like a daycare or an indoor entertainment facility? If so, you will want to vacuum more often, not just because children tend to be greater vectors for dust and debris, but also because they are more susceptible to illness than adults.
  3. Sick and Elderly: Does your business serve the elderly and/or infirm? If you are operating a medical facility or a nursing home, you will want to vacuum more often as well in order to protect the health of your vulnerable patients.
  4. Temperature, Humidity and Time of Year: Does the area get more traffic during the summer than the winter? Often, the carpet in homes will need more vacuuming in the warmer months because people spend more time outdoors and therefore bring in more dust and debris from outside. Humidity is also a factor: the moisture in the air can collect pollutants and then condense on the carpet.
  5. Pets: Have cats and dogs? You should probably double the frequency of vacuuming in the rooms where they spend the most time.
  6. Smoking, cooking, and woodstoves: Smoke and ash can easily get trapped in your carpet, as can oils and other cooking residues.
  7. What floor is the room on? Ground level floors tend to absorb more matter from outside than upstairs floors.

vacuuming frequency

We hope you found this post informative and helpful! Check out Part 2 in our series, “How Often Should I Have My Carpet Cleaned”, which will be published in two weeks. For other information on cleaning your carpet check out this page.