Carpets can do a simple but wonderful job in enhancing the looks of our homes. Due to its soft texture, it is also safe for babies and toddlers who may injure themselves should they fall on hard floorings. Many of us lay carpets in our bedrooms and have area carpets in the living room. Despite the merits of carpeting, we need to pay attention to its cleanliness for several reasons.

Given Singapore’s humid weather, moisture tends to accumulate in household fittings and upholsteries, including carpets. When this happens, fungus and bacteria will start to grow within the carpet fabrics, often with an accompanying stale odour. Of significance is the presence of dust mites.

Unseen by our naked eyes, millions of dust mites can possibly dwell
within the deep fibres of carpets. They strive on dead skin cells shed by human beings or animals, moisture trapped within the carpets, fungi and bacteria, and even the carpet fibres themselves. Such contamination may result in young children or people with allergic conditions to develop problems like asthma attacks, respiratory difficulties and skin rashes.

Food stains and spills, if not removed promptly, will not only leave unsightly stain marks on the carpets, but will also harbour the growth of bacteria and germs. Due to their favourable temperature and environment, carpets easily become breeding grounds for bugs and insects, which can nibble through the fibres and cause irreversible damage. Beautiful and often expensive carpets will be ruined if this aspect is overlooked.

As we enter our homes, we carry various pollutants that are either air-borne or clung onto our apparels. These are in turn deposited and trapped by the carpets, which collect pollutants the way a giant filter does. We end up exposed to unhealthy contaminants as well.

In high traffic density areas, carpets experience accelerated wear and tear. Dirt will inevitably accumulate on the carpets. The abrasive edges of dirt and sand particles first remove the stain resistance coatings on the carpets, before they scratch the fibres’ smooth surfaces, dulling their colours and flattening them in the process. Soil particles will similarly settle and become embedded in the fibre yarn. Over time, they solidify and gravitate into deep and dark lines. Carpets will lose their original shapes and textures over prolonged usage.

Given the above scenarios, it is thus important for us to ensure our carpets are clean. Constant changing of carpets is expensive – good maintenance is a cheaper option. It is best to have regular cleaning to halt the built-up of dirt and dust, which often work their way to the base of the carpets. Regular vacuuming does not get rid of the in-ground dirt thoroughly.

Nor does it eliminate germs and mites. So it pays to engage professional carpet cleaning companies to do the job. Cleaning frequency depends on how often a particular room is being used. A rule of thumb is to have at least a yearly cleaning for lesser-utilised rooms and semi-annual or quarterly cleaning for more heavily used rooms.

There are many types of carpet cleaning these days. The main ones are steam cleaning, dry cleaning and low-moisture cleaning. In general, the procedure first involves dry vacuuming the carpet to remove surface dirt. For spot cleaning, special chemicals are applied at the affected areas to remove any stubborn stains. This is followed by pre-spraying carpet extraction agents and leaving for a short while to let the agents react. Next, deep extraction
scrubs the carpet and removes deeply embedded dirt. Chemical cleaning destroys mould formations effectively. An optional step is to spray on a layer of carpet protector to protect the carpets from future soil and staining agent spillages.

Clean carpets give our house a refreshing look and feel, as periodic cleaning restores and freshens up the fibres. Regular cleaning also reduces the likelihood of permanent damage, prolongs the life spans of carpets and hence our investment. More importantly, it ensures a safe environment for the occupants as it keeps contaminant levels to a low.