New carpets and flooring are generally one of the more expensive items that you buy for your home so you want them to look good for as long as possible. There are some simple and cost effective carpet and floor care things you can do both before you buy and after they are installed to keep your carpets and flooring looking great for longer.
Carpet and Floor Care – Before you Buy
- Buy the best quality carpet / flooring you can afford. With flooring you definitely get what you pay for, don’t go for the very cheapest. Decide on how much you can afford and get the best you can for that spend.
- Don’t fit a new carpet on old underlay. This will result in the carpet wearing out much quicker, because the areas that get the most traffic will have the worst of the underlay beneath it and the new carpet will not be supported and hence these areas will start to wear immediately. In addition all the dirt and dust from the old underlay will transfer to your lovely new carpet.
- Don’t skimp on floor preparation. A vinyl floor fitted on a rough service will look horrible and wear quickly. Take advice from your carpet fitter on what floor preparation is needed.
- Be patient if you have a new extension or home and want wood or vinyl. These products cannot be fitted until the sub floor is completely dry.
- Get your flooring fitted by an NICF (National Institute of Carpet and Floorlayers) fitter. This is a guarantee that the floor fitting will be of the highest standards. Stewart has been a Masterfitter in the NICF since 1993 and offers carpet fitting in Leicester, Northampton, Rugby and surrounding areas. NICF fitters in your local area can be found at the NICF website.
Carpet & Floor care after your Carpets and Flooring are Fitted
1. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum – vacuuming and sweeping your your carpets and flooring regularly, is the best way of keeping them looking tip top. This makes sure the tiny particles of dust and grit that we carry in on our clothes and shoes are removed from the floor before they penetrate the carpet pile or dull the surface of vinyls, laminates or wood. If you do no other carpet and floor care do this one!
2. Get a decent sized good quality doormat fitted. There are lots of different types of good quality door matting available in lots of different colours. From coir natural to ribbed door matting in black, blue or red. We order the door matting to size and integrate it with whatever type of flooring you have. You do not need a mat well as we create this for you. Even if you can’t train the dog, children or husband to wipe his feet, just the brushing action of the doormat will get rid of the worst of the grit and grime.
3. When moving heavy furniture or kitchen appliances do not drag them across the floor. With carpets this results in the carpet being stretched and pulled of the grippers. With vinyls, laminates and woods this results in tears and/or scratches.
4. If your carpet is wrinkled with creases, get it stretched by a professional carpet fitter as soon as possible. If they are left too long, they become permanent marks because the back of the carpet is broken and the best carpet fitter in the world will not be able to get them out. If your carpet is less than 6 months old, get the person who sold you the carpet to come back and do the stretch free of charge. For more information on carpet stretching and why it happens read this.
5. If you need to take your carpet up for any reason, do not fold it. The folds will mark the carpet and cannot be removed by the fitter. Roll it and get it relaid later.
6. Avoid water on wood and laminate flooring. Even the very tiniest amounts can result in the wood warping. This make take several months to occur. A slow leaking tap, washing machine or dishwasher fitting is the worst thing to happen to a wood or laminate floor.
7. Prevent the TV carpet shuffle – if you always sit in the same place, the carpet will start to look worn here first. You can either move round and sit in different places first or alternatively have a rug under your favourite seat.
