photo credit: http://www.mohawkflooring.com
How you care for your carpet makes a big difference in how your carpet looks and performs. You want to ensure that you are properly maintaining your new carpet so that it lasts for many years.
Here are some basics:
1. Use walk off mats at entry ways to prevent dirt and other materials from getting tracked in.
2. Regular vacuuming is the key to keeping your carpets looking beautiful. Vacuuming removes dirt and other debris from the carpet pile and prevents it from becoming embedded deeper in. High traffic areas like hallways and stairs need to be vacuumed more often. Typically once a week for low traffic areas and 2 or more times per week for higher traffic.
Make sure that you have a vacuum with an adjustable height beater bar or rotating brush and also enough suction power to get deep into the carpet. The adjustable height beater bar or rotating brush is important especially for thicker pile and the new soft premium carpets. If the beater bar or rotating brush is set too low the carpet fibers can become damaged and leave the carpet looking fuzzy.
3. Professional cleaning is recommended every 12-18 months.
Stain removal:
Undoubtedly, at some point in your carpets life spills and stains will happen. The Carpet and Rug Institute has great tips for many common stains. Please refer to their website here for tips. Also, you can refer to your specific carpet manufacturers website for more detailed stain removal.
Carpet Cleaning:
Renting a do-it-yourself extractor or steam cleaner is effective at assisting with spots and spills but they don’t take the place of periodic deep cleaning by a professional. You should have your carpets professionally cleaned every 12-18 months. Refer The Carpet and Rug Institute here for tips on choosing a professional carpet cleaning company.
photo credit: http://www.theglobalcarpet.com
Sources:
The Carpet and Rug Institute, Mohawk Flooring, Shaw Flooring
Superior Flooring 
Carpet maintenance is so important for the healthy environment at home. I find your article very helpful and informative! Thanks!
Here’s a little trick I found when working in the hospital. I will use EXTREMELY HOT water and a mixture of glass cleaner. It works real well. You can use this with carpet extraction or surface cleaning. It will work with either one. I thought about trying this because we were on such a tight budget and the glass cleaner was about 1/2 the cost of the carpet cleaner.
What a great read I clean carpet for a living so i know how important it is to keep a clean home
I appreciate the information on how to maintain your carpet. I agree that doing the little things like having mats at the entry way can be super helpful in the long run and it can help your carpet to last longer as well. My mom just got new carpet put in her home and she wants to make sure that her carpet lasts a long time, I will be sure to share this information with her.
harrisonburgcarpetcleaners.com
This is a very nice article you have done! It’s always best to make sure you do regular everyday maintenance, but getting your carpets professionally cleaned every so often is very beneficial. Thank you and keep up the good work!
harrisonburgcarpetcleaners.com
Thank you for the information. I always look for CRI approved cleaning solutions since I don’t want to damage the carpet but at the same time taking care of stains.
I just wanted to thank you for these maintenance tips for carpets. You mentioned that you may need to get a professional cleaning about every 12 months. I’m interested to learn if this is the case for all carpets or if there are some that should be cleaned more or less frequently. It sounds like this could be good to research to make sure you get the right carpet that you know that you can take care of.
I like that you suggested vacuuming regularly to keep dirt from getting deeper in the floor. I am going to have new carpet installed in my home soon and I was wondering how to care for it. I can see how it would be nice to always vacuum because it could keep the carpet from getting dirt stains.
I have read your blog about Upholstery & Drape Cleaning and trust me it was all worth written. You have mentioned everything really well. Thanks for sharing