For many people, the concepts of carpet and vacuum cleaner are opposite poles that should not be touched. There are many legends, hoaxes and half-documented stories about why it should not be used. But the vacuum cleaner is a tool that can extend the life of our carpet keeping it clean in the process if we use it well.
Of course, questions about how often you have to vacuum a carpet and how it should be done to avoid damaging your tissues. If you want to keep your carpet for many years, you are in the right place. We tell you when and how to vacuum to leave it as the first day for longer.
How often should You Vacuum your Carpet?
The frequency with which a carpet is cleaned varies depending on the type of fabric and the occupation of the house. Although it is usually recommended to clean a carpet every two weeks, it will be advisable to do so sooner if small children who play on it live in the house or if we have any pets.
We will also have to increase the frequency if we have a carpet under the table where we eat, if it is in a humid place, or if it is woven with natural fibers. Factors all of them help to some extent to fix the dirt.
Since a general cleaning is usually done throughout the weekend, we can include the task of a couple of minutes that will take us to vacuum the carpet taking into account a couple of tips to avoid damaging it.
Why use the Vacuum in front of Shaking?
The vacuum is not an infallible method of cleaning, but a preventive treatment to prevent dust, suspended particles, and organic debris from sneaking between the tissues, fixing them, and causing damage or bad smell (like the one that generates the mold or fungus to grow).
By Vacuuming we are removing the first layers of dirt on the carpet, but not those that are already inside, and that require shaking or going through a specialized cleaning service.
Therefore, the less a carpet is vacuumed, the more times it will have to be shaken to remove the dirt embedded inside, with the deterioration that it entails. In addition, more trips will have to be done to dye for cleaning, adding a cost that we could have easily saved.
How to use the Vacuum without Damaging the Carpet?
However, the vacuum is not without danger to the fibers of our carpet, and it will have to be passed carefully if we do not want to damage it. We give you some vacuum cleaning tips to use it:
Leave the Carpet for the end of the Cleaning
To start, we should not vacuum before cleaning the dust on the furniture. Although it seems to be unrelated, when cleaning the furniture we are dispersing a thin layer of dirt on the floor (and therefore the carpet) that we would then have to remove again if we do not want to leave it dirty until we vacuum again the next time.
Similarly, it is recommended to vacuum the house before passing on the carpet, leaving it for last. Especially if the vacuum is not water, the filter usually acts as an impeller of hot and dirty air, something for which normal filter vacuum cleaners have been criticized.
Choose a Vacuum with Low Suction
As we have said, the idea after vacuuming is not to remove all the internal dirt, but to remove the first layers (the most recent). If we use all the power of the machine we could damage the fabrics, so the ideal would be to acquire a vacuum with a power regulator, reducing it when passing especially for slightly rigid carpets that can fray.
As these types of vacuum cleaners are quite expensive, the alternative is to acquire an independent head looking for two points that help soften the air force on the fabric :
- That the mouth of the vacuum has a lot of surfaces.
- That this is adjustable in height, being able to move it away from the carpet.
- That way we will avoid sucking very hard.
The technique is Important when Vacuuming
In the same way as when and with what to vacuum, you have to pay attention to how. Ideally, do not go twice in a row and in the same direction at the same point, so as not to force the tissues or bend or stretch them too much.
Vacuuming forming birds, diagonally, or changing the direction of passing helps the fibers withstand stresses and will clean the carpet without reducing its useful life.
It is important to vacuum with the carpet horizontally on the floor, and not with it hanging (for example from a clothesline). In this way, we will avoid forcing the tissues more than necessary, in addition to removing as much dirt as possible, since in vertical or diagonal the dirt will move inside the tissue, sometimes to get trapped.
In addition to all the above points, it is always recommended to vacuum dry if we do not want the tissues to be caked or even to trap dust.
And, of course, if we don’t have time or desire we will always have to go to the dye
