Installing new carpet in a house is one of the most dramatic improvements you can do to make a house look more beautiful. Unfortunately, this is often beyond the budget.
There are, however, some steps you can take to give your old carpet a facelift at a fraction of the cost.
There are, however, some steps you can take to give your old carpet a facelift at a fraction of the cost.
What can you do?
The first thing to realize, if you care about having nice-looking, long-lasting carpet, is that you have to give it basic care. If you do, you can extend the its useful life by ten or more years.
If your house has the cheapest carpet sold, then you may have to give it basic care to get even five years out of it.
If you have moderate-quality carpet (or better), you can get up to 20 years of good life out of it with basic care.
What is basic carpet care?
The vacuum
Of number one importance is vacuuming the carpet regularly. Not the most fun activity, but oh, so important. The ideal is every day or every other day, but this isn't realistic for most of us. Once a week is a good compromise. If you vacuum less often, dirt particles work their way down to the bottom of the pile where they act like little saw blades every time anyone steps on them, cutting away at the pile of your carpet. Bit by bit, they scalp your carpet!
You need a good quality vacuum cleaner. Don't buy the cheapest one you can find. You don't need the top of the line either. It will more than pay for itself by delaying the need for new carpet. You must change the bag regularly to get much benefit from your effort. And don't forget to clean any filters. (My Hoover Wind Tunnel has two filters.) This will not only make your vacuum work better; it will extend the life of the machine and save you more money there as well.
When I finally invested in a good vacuum cleaner, I couldn't believe how much junk it took out of my carpet. I'd been in the habit of vacuuming fairly regularly, but I had no idea how inefficient my old vacuum was.
Not only did it clean better, it made the nap on my carpet stand up again. That alone gave a fresh look to the carpet. After a thorough going-over with the new vacuum (it took two bags!), the carpet already looked noticeably newer.
The first thing to realize, if you care about having nice-looking, long-lasting carpet, is that you have to give it basic care. If you do, you can extend the its useful life by ten or more years.
If your house has the cheapest carpet sold, then you may have to give it basic care to get even five years out of it.
If you have moderate-quality carpet (or better), you can get up to 20 years of good life out of it with basic care.
What is basic carpet care?
The vacuum
Of number one importance is vacuuming the carpet regularly. Not the most fun activity, but oh, so important. The ideal is every day or every other day, but this isn't realistic for most of us. Once a week is a good compromise. If you vacuum less often, dirt particles work their way down to the bottom of the pile where they act like little saw blades every time anyone steps on them, cutting away at the pile of your carpet. Bit by bit, they scalp your carpet!
You need a good quality vacuum cleaner. Don't buy the cheapest one you can find. You don't need the top of the line either. It will more than pay for itself by delaying the need for new carpet. You must change the bag regularly to get much benefit from your effort. And don't forget to clean any filters. (My Hoover Wind Tunnel has two filters.) This will not only make your vacuum work better; it will extend the life of the machine and save you more money there as well.
When I finally invested in a good vacuum cleaner, I couldn't believe how much junk it took out of my carpet. I'd been in the habit of vacuuming fairly regularly, but I had no idea how inefficient my old vacuum was.
Not only did it clean better, it made the nap on my carpet stand up again. That alone gave a fresh look to the carpet. After a thorough going-over with the new vacuum (it took two bags!), the carpet already looked noticeably newer.
Ref: associatedcontent.com
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