Carpet

Sales on wall-to-wall carpeting, hardwood and laminate floor installations are usually featured in January and February with Presidents’ Day sales the high point.
If you are considering replacing worn out or dirty carpeting listen to the Queen of Bargains Seminar on floor coverings before you make your final decision.
First and foremost, what are your expectations for your floors? If they are carpeted, how clean do you want them to be? How clean do you want them to look? How much time and money do you want to invest in their upkeep?
Greg Doublestein, proprietor of The Frontgate in Indianapolis and appointed by me as an “Expert of Clean,” says that unarticulated expectations will always disappoint the customer. Not sharing your expectations with your cleaning company or your floor replacement provider will also almost guarantee disappointment.
If you want your carpets to be really clean and always pass strict hygiene standards, you will always be disappointed. It is impossible to disinfect carpets. In fact, if you ever encounter a health care provider whose procedure room is carpeted, walk to the nearest exit. I repeat, it is impossible to disinfect carpets. If hygiene is your number one concern, and you have allergies, pets, children or others who may soil your carpets, even if you leave your outdoor shoes at the door and wear special indoor slippers on your carpets, you are fooling yourself. If hygiene is you’re #1 priority, get ceramic tile, stone, rubber, laminate or wood floors installed.
If you want your carpets to look clean and antiseptic hygiene is not a priority, pay attention to how you clean your carpets. Many methods make carpets look worse because they leave soap or powder in the carpet. Do-it-yourselfers often do more harm than good if they don’t completely remove the cleaning agent. The carpet then acts like a “wash cloth” for your dirty feet. The best method, according to Mr. Doublestein and many carpet manufacturers, is the hot water extraction method, which gives you the best chance of a thorough cleaning. Using carbonated or solvent-based chemicals is acceptable but you have to deal with the chemical odors when you are finished which may be a problem for those people who want to reduce chemicals indoors, not increase them. Stay away from powder and foam cleaning methods because of the residue.
Within any cleaning system you choose, the operator’s expertise is critical. Persnickety do-it-yourselfers need training and mentoring to avoid making the situation worse.
If you must have carpet, know that even if you follow this advice and have appropriate mats outside your home and vacuum a minimum of once a week and have the carpet cleaned as recommended once a year, your carpet may only last, on an average 5-6 years. Under the best of circumstances, you might be able to get 10 years out of your carpet.
If you only plan to live in your home or apartment for less than that, you may not care about what happens to your carpet after that.
I personally do not favor the “disposable mentality” that says I can always replace something if it wears out. I like to invest for the long term, especially when it comes to my home. Even if I don’t intend to live in a place for a long time, I don’t mind investing for the long term because I will get a greater return in the long run. If I rent my home, a better floor will need less maintenance and may never need to be replaced. If I sell my home, a better floor will enhance my home’s value.
If you still prefer carpet and you want to know which vacuum cleaner to buy, visit your local vacuum repair shop and ask which vacuums come in for repair the most. You may be surprised to see the highly touted Hoover Tornado or Eureka wind tunnel machines waiting in line. Mr. Doublestein recommends those made by Riccar. He finds them to be 33-50 % more powerful. If you include the bag, they have four internal filters for dirt and dust. They are mid range in price and are made well, durable and they do the job better.