How Clean Are Your Feet?

One of the first things many people mention about their new carpets is, “This feels so soft on my feet!” But the more important question is, “How soft are my feet on this new carpet?” That’s right, whether you’re wearing shoes or even going barefoot, everyday foot traffic can wear on your carpet and lead to more frequent cleanings. While NOVA thanks you for your business, your rug won’t thank you for the extra wear and tear! Here are some helpful tips to keep the foot factor to a minimum and preserve the longevity of your carpet.

For starters, avoid shoe traffic on carpeted areas. The rubber on the soles of your shoes can wear against the fibers on the carpet, making it rougher to the touch and ultimately causing fabric tears. This leads to earlier replacement or patch repairs of your carpet. In addition, even if you wipe your feet on a mat before entering, your shoes will track in dirt, mud, and other elements from outside that can lead to staining and color fading in your rug. So take your shoes off at the door and leave them on a shoe rack, mat, or mud room where they won’t leave marks on your good carpet.

So you may be thinking, “Why not just walk barefoot on the carpet?” While this might be the most comfortable and desirable for many people, your feet carry many of the same skin oils as the palms of your hands. These oils, and any other residue carried on the soles of your feet, can actually do similar damage to that of your shoes: fiber wear, color fading, and even the carpet carrying a foul odor.

Best tip? Wear clean socks when walking on your carpet. As long as you’ve been wearing shoes while outside, and haven’t tracked any dirt or dust from the basement or other dirty floors, your socks can act as a great barrier between your feet and the carpet fibers, and most socks are soft enough to minimize wear. Think about it – a load of laundry is a lot easier than a carpet cleaning or replacement (unless you work for NOVA)!

Vacuuming Tips

One of the most common questions we get is: How often should I vacuum? Or, what is the best vacuum to use? So, here are some NOVA vacuuming tips to keep your carpet in tip-top shape and get the best results from your NOVA carpet cleaning.

First, vacuum often. Some home and business owners prefer to vacuum three to five times per week, simply because it helps to remove small particles of garbage, hair, dust, and dirt from the floor. For pet owners or areas where there is heavy foot traffic on a daily basis, we recommend even vacuuming once per day. There’s really no such thing as vacuuming too often. Foreign objects and dirt can wear against the fibers of your carpet and cause irreversible damage over time, and once these particles are set into the carpet, they can require more aggressive cleaning to remove, and in some cases may not come out at all. The more often you vacuum, the longer your carpet will last!

Most customers prefer to use a standard dry vacuum for regular cleanings and allow NOVA to do the detergent work. However, if you decide to try a home solution for detergent cleaning, DO NOT suck up detergent or any other spilled liquid into a dry vacuum! Use a wet-dry model (like a Shop-Vac), and make sure to rinse and dry the vacuum after each use to avoid dirty water fermenting and then blasting a foul odor into your home or office during its next use.
Remember that we always recommend vacuuming before your scheduled NOVA cleaning so that you can pick up any large particles that won’t dilute in a water-detergent solution. If you have additional questions about best vacuuming practices, please call us, we’re happy to help! And remember, if you don’t have time, or if you feel more comfortable with a NOVA specialist vacuuming your floor prior to a cleaning, please let us know in advance, and we can provide this service for an additional fee.