How To: Prolong the Life of Your Flooring Investment – Part II

What is the largest air filter in your office or in your home? That’s right, your carpet is.

Most people don’t think of their carpet as an air filter, but that’s exactly what it is. Thanks to gravity, that soft, plush textile under our feet catches all the crumbs, dust and hair that we live or work with each day. If we could replace our carpet semi-annually like we do our furnace’s air filter, there wouldn’t be a problem. So what are we to do?

In-depth studies conducted by top carpet and rug industry organizations have found that as much as 75% of soil can be effectively removed with a high-efficiency vacuum. That is a tremendous help in combating premature carpet wear because, as we discussed in last weeks Blog, those dry particulate soils will “cut” into the fibers, and will affect the appearance of your carpet

So  what can we do to make sure that the vacuum in our office or home is running optimally?

  • Check the vacuum bag and replace it BEFORE it gets full. Most vacuum owners wait and wait to replace their vacuum bag. This cuts down on the airflow of your vacuum and greatly decreases it’s efficiency.
  • Also checking the vacuum’s filters and rinsing them off (if foam) or replacing (if paper) will help in this area. Periodically checking the status of the brush roll is also a must.
  • We need to make sure that it isn’t becoming clogged with hair or other objects (rubber bands, shoe strings or Fluffy’s favorite chew toy.)

Executing these rather simple steps will ensure that we can all breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to cleaning our home or office’s largest air filters – our carpet.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope these tips helped!

Written by, Derek Beyer.