There’s no way to avoid walking the same route in your house. We all have floors that get a lot of heavy traffic and others that receive a lot less. Over time as you walk on your carpets and rugs, patterns start to show and this extra traffic can actually damage your floors. Even hardwood floors are prone to traffic patterns.
Our experts have weighed in on some techniques to prevent this damage from occurring below.
How to keep high traffic carpet areas clean
Every home has a carpet that gets extra heavy traffic like in front of the front door entryway or a hall carpet that is traveled over and over again day after day. These traffic patterns can damage the fibers in the carpet and once they start to wear, this allows dirt and dust to travel deep into the fibers making it hard to clean effectively. After years of abuse, a carpet can have irreversible damage so regular maintenance is crucial for getting the most life out of your carpets and area rugs.
- Vacuum regularly – Even if the carpet appears to be fairly clean, you can not see the dust and other dirt that seeps lower and lower into the fibers. By keeping up with your cleaning regimen and vacuuming once or even two times a week, the dust and dirt will not be able to settle into the fibers.
- Add a welcome mat outside – Not only does a mat sharpen up your front porch, but it also does double-duty and keeps most of the dirt and grime from entering your home.
- Choose your carpet color wisely – A beautiful white carpet is extremely hard to maintain. By choosing a darker color for a high traffic area, any stains or wear that does occur may not show as much as a lighter color.
- Move furniture once in a while – It’s fun to change up your space and doing so can help to change the traffic flow in a room. Not only this but your heavy furniture dents and damages the carpet fibers and dents them.
- Make sure anything that spills is cleaned up ASAP – Don’t let a spill dry and don’t let solid messes stay. Stains can become permanent if not cleaned up correctly. Here is a great resource for removing carpet stains
- Add curtains or shades – The sun can damage a carpet by bleaching or fading the fibers. Do yourself a favor and install some window treatments especially in moms that get a lot of light. Even a light-filtering shade can help prevent sun damage.
- A carpet protector is key for an office – If you have a home office, or you are working from home and are sitting in a chair, over time the wheels will damage your carpet. A carpet protector will eliminate track marks and indentations that can become permanent over time.
- Call a carpet cleaning pro – Angelo’s Cleaning has carpet cleaning services to clean and even repair your carpets. View all of our carpet cleaning services here
How to care for oriental rugs and area rugs
An area rug is much easier to maintain and keep from damage from high traffic. Because they are not permanently installed, you have the freedom to move them, but there are definitely ways to extend their life. Find out below!
- Follow the same vacuuming regimen as above – The same damage can occur in an area rug as a carpet so by doing a quick vacuum every week, you extend the life of the rug.
- Shake your rugs – Want to remove dust, dirt, and everything else that falls into your well-traveled rugs? Take them outside and give them a good shake! You’ll be amazed at what falls off.
- Reposition furniture regularly – By moving furniture away from a rug the dents and creases will not become permanent. Also, rugs that are put just under the front legs of a table are impossible to vacuum, moving the rug away just enough to thoroughly get the vacuum in can really help.
- Use castors under furniture legs – Castors can spread out the weight of a heavy piece of furniture and help in the denting and damage it can do to your rug. Some castors are made to slide across a floor easily and this can help if you want to easily vacuum under the furniture. Castors can be left under the furniture.
- Never put an oriental rug in direct daily sunlight – The UV rays of sunlight can damage an oriental rug by fading the colors. This sun damage happens over time and can easily be avoided by either rotating a rug or keeping the shades drawn during the most intense afternoon hours.
- Get your rugs and oriental rugs cleaned regularly by a professional – Our team is certified to clean your rug safely and thoroughly. A professional clean will reach deep within the fibers of your rug and safely clean the fibers. We can come to pick up your rug or you can come to one of our 4 locations to drop your rug off.
Avoiding hardwood floor damage in high traffic areas
Even hardwood floors are not immune to damage from a high-traffic area. From dirty shoes to pets’ dirty paws to the normal wear and tear of traffic, a hardwood floor’s topcoat can break down over time and become scratched and dulled. Below are some ways to get the maximum life out of your wood floors.
- Vacuum regularly – Yes, even your wood floors need a good vacuum. Make sure to use a vacuum that is designed for use on wood floors. Making sure that dirt or debris is not being ground into the floor can be key in extending its life. Wash wood floors with a mop afterward to wash away dust.
- Use felt protectors on furniture – Any piece of furniture on a wood floor is eventually going to move or cause dents from the weight. A kitchen table and chairs are perfect examples of furniture that should have felt protectors installed.
- Make a no-shoe policy – Leave your shoes at the front door and you can avoid having all the dirt, germs, and grime from outdoors entering into your house and harming your floors.
- Make sure your dogs and cat’s nails are trimmed – Your pet’s nails can easily make a scratch on a hardwood floor. Keep them trimmed and avoid this damage.
- Have your hardwood floors professionally cleaned – Angelo’s Cleaning uses professional machines to make your hardwood floors shine again! View all of our hardwood cleaning services.
Call Angelo’s Cleaning for all of your cleaning needs.
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610-935-7557 (Phoenixville)
610-436-6666 (West Chester)
610-265-5116 (Conshohocken)
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