Wall to wall carpets are very popular in britain and you will not notice the way in which dirt can discolor them as time goes on. It is very likely that you will end up with a much duller color than you started out with after a year or so, as despite removing most dust, hoovers will not get all of the dirt up, and this is what changes the hue of the pile. Proper cleaning will ensure that you get all of the dirt out of the pile, and this is what will lift the brightness of the carpet, transforming the feel of the room! You may know that there are various ways in which you can clean a carpet, so a little run through of each technique will no doubt help you make a decision on which would work best for you.

First off, you can avoid professional prices by looking in to the art of home shampooing your carpets. This technique involves a spray on foam, that you scrub in to the pile by hand. The foam will attract dirt, and the scrubbing motion will lift it away from the fibers in the pile, which will ultimately get rid of most of the dirt in the carpet, leaving it looking great. The dirt will be contained in the foam which will dry, and you can vacuum up the residue, which will sit atop the pile. The residue may not come out of the pile completely however, and this can cause issues. The residue that comes from foam cleaners can be quite sticky, and this will attract dirt more effectively than a new carpet. Therefore, any residue that does not come out will make the carpet dirtier more quickly, which is exactly the opposite of what you want! Either you need to be extremely effective in getting the residue up, or to use a different method, it depends on your budget!

The next method to look into is ‘steam cleaning’ your carpet, which may be a little bit of a misnomer.

This technique should really be called ‘hot water extraction’ as it does not actually use steam. The process uses a machine that blasts hot water into the carpet, whilst almost simultaneously extracting it. The power of the blast and the heat of the water removes dirt whilst killing bacteria. The heat also breaks down the bonds in the dirt that makes it stick to the pile, for a really effective clean. As you can likely imagine however, this process needs to be done by a professional, as it requires specialist machinery. This machinery needs to be up to the standard as well, as any issues with the extraction can leave your carpet sodden and warm, which will only encourage mould to grow and ruin the carpet for good.

Dry cleaning is a little more expensive, but comes with less risk. A dry compound is mixed with a solution that forms a chemical reaction that attracts dirt molecules. The solution is scrubbed into the carpet and then removed by a professional.

This technique is highly effective, and can be localized for major spillages! You may well want to get this done every couple of years as it will completely rejuvenate your carpets and leave your place looking amazing!