New carpet is a comfortable and soft alternative to hard surface flooring. But like all other types of flooring, carpet can become worn down over time, especially in high-traffic areas. How do you keep the luxurious feeling of soft carpeting over time? Preventing wear in your carpeting may take a bit of effort, but it's not difficult to follow some simple protection measures.
Unfortunately, however, some wear in your carpets may be inevitable, particularly in a home with pets and kids. When that happens, there are some easy ways to revive the appearance of your carpet in high-traffic areas. We'll go over how to restore carpet that has experienced foot traffic wear so that your carpeting looks like it's in new condition. Additionally, we'll explain some of the precautions you can take to prevent any issues with new carpet and foot traffic.
Preventing Wear and Tear
In high-traffic areas, prevention is key to elongating your carpet's lifespan. Foot traffic can cause matting, crushed fibers, large indents, discoloration, and stains. Luckily, there are a few simple strategies for ensuring that your carpets remain in good shape.
Purchase High-Quality Carpets
Before purchasing carpeting, you should consider the quality and type. Low-quality carpeting will not hold up over time. Even if you take preventative measures, low-quality carpets will show signs of wear quickly. It's best to invest in high-quality, durable carpeting as it will save you money in the long run from purchasing replacements.
Rugs
Using rugs in strategic places around your home will prevent wear in high-traffic places. Hallways, living rooms, and entryways are some of the best places to put rugs, as these places often see a lot of foot traffic. Generally, rugs are cheaper and easier to replace than wall-to-wall carpeting, so placing these around your home could save you money and time.
Regular Maintenance
Carpets should be vacuumed regularly and professionally cleaned at least once every couple of years. You should also be sure to follow any specific care instructions from the manufacturer to ensure that you are taking care of the carpet properly. Some types of carpeting require more specific maintenance than others.
Take off Your Shoes
One of the best ways to protect a new carpet from foot traffic is to remove your shoes when entering your home. Shoes can bring in a lot of dirt and more heavy pressure onto your carpet. By instituting a no-shoe policy in your home, you can prevent carpet damage to areas like entryways and hallways.
Reviving High-Traffic Carpet Areas
Even with proper prevention methods, you will likely still see the effects of foot traffic in certain areas of your home. The effects of heavy foot traffic may seem like the quality of your carpet has diminished. However, for a new carpet, foot traffic effects may be reversed by trying some of these remedies.
Removing Discoloration
In places that commonly see the same footpath, the carpet might darken as it becomes dirtier than the floor around it. This issue is commonly seen in light-colored carpets. For this type of problem, you'll need to purchase a carpet cleaning solution.
If you're tackling a large footpath, you may want to consider using an extraction machine or paying for a professional carpet cleaning service. However, if it's a small area, then you might consider cleaning the carpet by hand. In this situation, you should try to first vacuum up any loose dirt or pet hair that might be in the carpet. Then you'll want to shampoo the carpet, gently brushing the fibers. After it's done drying, you can restore the fluffiness of the pile using the vacuum.
Unflatten Carpet Fibers
One of the most common issues that high-traffic areas will encounter is flattened carpet fibers. Your once plush carpet can become matted easily, which affects its look and feel. From frequent walking over an extended period of time, a depression in the carpet can form. It can also become flattened from the pressure of heavy furniture. The carpet will no longer feel soft and cushioned. Plus, your carpeting will look old and worn out, which will affect the overall aesthetics of your space.
Though it's a normal sign of wear for older carpeting, if you have relatively new carpets, you should be able to restore them easily by trying a few simple methods. The easiest and simplest way to restore flattened carpet fibers is by vacuuming the area in all directions. For a new carpet, foot traffic may not have affected the carpet that severely. You might be able to restore and keep your carpet in good condition by vacuuming regularly.
When you are dealing with carpeting that has large indentations from heavy pressure, then you might want to try infusing the fibers with some moisture. After getting the fibers wet, try brushing upwards to create lift again. Once it's dry, a quick vacuum will restore the carpet.
Steam cleaning also works well for flattened carpet pathways. If you don't have a steam cleaner and don't want to pay for a professional carpet cleaning service, you could try using an iron (set low) over a damp towel. Since this is a time-consuming method, you may want to opt for a professional cleaning service if the area is large.
If you're looking for another option, carpet brushes are available at affordable prices. These work by shaking free compressed fibers and any stuck dirt or debris. You can then vacuum up any of the excess dirt and lift up the fibers.
Foot traffic can cause your carpet to look worn and outdated, even when you properly take care of it. Luckily, there are a lot of ways to restore your flattened and discolored carpet back to its original plush state. There are also a lot of prevention methods to ensure that your carpets look great for a long time. One of the best ways to ensure that your carpets look great for years to come is by investing in high-quality materials. We have many different carpeting options, including low-pile cuts that are durable and made to last a long time.
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