Carpet care guide

Caring for your new carpet

When you have your new carpet you will of course want it to look good for as long as possible and we have produced the guide to help you to maintain its appearance.

While, unfortunately spills and accidents are inevitable and dirt and grit is a carpets worst enemy, proper prompt maintenance will extend the life of a carpet, helping it to look good for longer

Door mats

The use of doormats will significantly reduce the rate at which the carpet will soil and so extend its life.

Vacuuming

Regular vacuuming will prevent dirt and grit from matting the fibres. An upright vacuum cleaner fitted with beater bar and/or brushes is recommended for cut pile carpets whilst a vacuum only model is best for loop pile carpets to prevent pilling.

New carpet should always be vacuumed as when it is first laid, there may be some fluffing or shedding as loose fibres work their way to the surface. This is perfectly normal and is nothing to worry about.

Keeping Stains at bay

Spillages should be dealt with as soon as possible – and preferably the moment they occur. The sooner a spill is tackled, the better the chance of avoiding a stain.

Liquids should be soaked with clean white absorbent cloth, white kitchen rolls or tissue.

Stains should be blotted and never rubbed.

Stains should be worked on from the outside to avoid them spreading.

Solids should be scraped off.

The pile should be brushed up after cleaning.

Carpet cleaning agent should be applied to a cloth and never directly to the spot.

Stains should always be rinsed thoroughly with water afterwards if spot cleaners have been used, but never wet excessively.

A hair dryer can be used to dry the spot.

For wool carpets the care treatments should be “Woolsafe” approved as they have been scientifically tested and are safe and effective for cleaning wool rich carpets.

Ordinary detergents, washing up liquids, soaps or other cleaners should not be used on carpet.

Deep Cleaning

From time to time carpet may benefit from a deep clean to rejuvenate its appearance. This can be done by using a deep clean appliance which uses hot water and a special cleaning product to extract ground-in grime.

Some key points about carpet

Shedding: of short fibres from all cut-pile carpets made with spun yarn in the first months of use is perfectly normal. The quantity of fibre shed is only a minute proportion of the total amount of fibre in the carpet and its loss will not affect durability. Vacuuming of the carpet regularly from the time of its installation is recommended to the loose fibres.

Sprouting: tufts should be carefully trimmed level with the carpet surface using sharp scissors. Tufts of loose pile carpets should be cut and never pulled.

Shading: is a feature of all textile materials with a pile and there is an apparent change in colour from the different light reflection from pile lying in different directions as a result of foot traffic and vacuuming cleaning. The appearance can be recovered by brushing the pile in a uniform direction.

Tracking: is a form of shading in wear causing the pile to be more permanently deformed or flattened in areas subject to frequent foot traffic, such as between two doorways or in front of a favourite chair.

Pile reversal: is a form of permanent shading which cannot be attributed to traffic patterns. The affected area is often random in shape and may take on the appearance of apparent water spill. Whilst pile reversal is considered not to be the result of any defect in manufacture, Carpet Foundation manufacturer’s products sold through Registered Specialist retailers are guaranteed against pile reversal for two years.

NB Shading, tracking and pile reversal are all apparent changes in colour and will not affect the durability of the carpet.

Loss or change of colour (colour fastness): in carpets may be caused by a number of agents including shampoo, water, rubbing, sunlight and atmospheric pollutants. There are accepted limits to the rate of colour change when measured according to International Standards.

Indentations: in a carpet surface subjected to heavy point loads, such as under furniture legs, are inevitable. Fibres with a high degree of resilience such as wool recover quite quickly, where the carpet has been significantly deformed however, such indentations are less likely to fully recover.