Carpet Cleaning Frequency

If carpet is cleaned before it becomes too unsightly, the cleaning chore will be easier and more successful. Allowing the carpet to become overly soiled may result in irreversible damage. It is a common myth that cleaning the carpet before it is absolutely necessary will cause it to get dirty faster. This goes back to the days when the shampoo methods were the most common.

Carpet in a typical household should be professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months depending upon the number of residents, amount and type of activity, and whether the carpet is light or dark color.

Professional Carpet Cleaning versus "Do-It-Yourself" Cleaning:

The maintenance brochure published by the world's largest carpet manufacturer, Shaw Industries, recommends professional carpet cleaning over "Do-It-Yourself" because of the potential problems that can occur from using rental equipment - such as yellowing, over wetting, fiber tip damage, severe resoiling, overuse of detergents, etc.

Most rental units available do not adequately clean and may actually damage the carpet.

How often should you clean your carpet?

The short answer is that it depends. It depends on how many people you have in your home, pets and your environment. We hope you find the chart below helpful in deciding how often to clean your Commercial or Residential carpet. Use it as a general guideline as your results may differ slightly based on your climate.

These are averages based on normal environmental conditions. If you live in an extremely cold climate, dustier conditions, very humid climate or have very heavy foot traffic, you may need more frequent cleanings.