Follow these tips for care and cleaning of your carpet.

You May Experience These Things...

There are a few things that may happen to your carpet after it is installed. They are nothing to be concerned about and can be easily cured.

Shedding

Most carpets retain some loose fibers after they leave the mill or store. These fibers often appear as balls of fluff on the surface of your carpet or in your vacuum cleaner. With time, they will work their way out of the carpet and no longer be a nuisance. Shedding primarily occurs with cut pile carpets.

Sprouting

Occasionally, loose tufts will appear above the carpet surface. To remove the loose tufts, clip them to be even with the carpet's surface. DO NOT PULL OUT LOOSE ENDS! If you do, you will permanently damage the carpet.

Shading

You may notice some variations in the color of your carpet - one area may seem to change color when you look at it from different directions. This is because light reflects differently as the pile is pushed in a variety of directions. Foot traffic generally causes this to happen and the best solution is to sweep or vacuum the pile in a uniform direction. Shading is impossible to eliminate in some cut pile styles, and is part of the character of velvets and saxonies.

Rippling

During times of high humidity, your carpet might experience some slight rippling. This situation usually resolves itself as the carpet settles. If the problem persists, please call your flooring retailer.

The New Carpet Smell

Like new cars, some new carpets have a "new carpet smell." It is nothing to be concerned about and usually goes away within a week, sometimes within days. There are some things that you can do to minimize the smell. Most importantly, be sure to ventilate the area as much as possible. You should open the doors and windows. Use fans to keep the air circulating during installation and for up to 72 hours afterwards. Take advantage of your heating or air conditioning fans, if you have them. You should also vacuum your carpet often to help remove the odor.

Static Electricity

When your home's relative humidity is low, a static charge can build up in your carpet as you walk across it. If you touch something made of metal, you get zapped. There are commercially available products you can apply to your carpet to reduce or eliminate static electric build-up. Patience is also a good remedy. Your carpet will hold less of a charge as time goes by. Most nylon fibers are pre-treated to reduce static electric build-up.

Crushing

Your carpet will display crushing in spots where heavy objects have been placed. To raise the pile back to its former height, you may have to do some vigorous brushing. You can also try passing a hot steam iron over the indentations — but bring the iron no closer than 6 inches above the carpet. Be sure to contact your sales professional or manufacturer of your carpet to avoid nullifying your warranty.

How to Keep Your Carpet in Great Shape

Your new carpet will bring you much satisfaction in the years to come, but only if you keep it in great shape. Here are a few tips to make your relationship with your carpet a long and happy one.

Vacuuming is Key

Vacuuming is key to keeping your new carpet looking new. Dirt and grit embedded in the pile will affect your carpet's color and cause matting, so you'll want to vacuum heavy-traffic areas every day if possible. Less heavily used areas can be maintained with once-a-week vacuuming. Vacuum about three passes for light cleaning, and up to seven passes where there is more soil.

For best results, a high suction vacuum cleaner with a beater bar or rotating brush should be used according to the manufacturer's directions. Make sure you adjust the attachment to the proper height for your carpet. For loop pile carpet, avoid attachments with teeth or ridges.

Capture that Stain

Remove stains with Capture! Capture is a water-based cleaning solution with a mild lemon fragrance, and it's your carpet's best friend. Capture safely cleans your carpet without damaging the fibers or stain-resistant finish, and it will not void carpet warranties. It is designed to absorb oily and water based soils that your vacuum cannot, and can therefore enhance the results of vacuuming. With Capture, carpets can be cleaned without steam or shampoo. Even better than its stain removal ability, Capture reduces allergens and is safe around children and pets. If you have carpets or area rugs, ask your Flooring America sales professional about Capture.

Shampooing

Vacuuming won't always take care of your carpet cleaning needs. Sometimes you need to do a little heavy duty cleaning to get your carpet looking like new again.

Many different types of carpet cleaners are commercially available, including dry cleaners, spray-on foam cleaners and wet shampoo. Because there is a chance that these can damage your carpet and invalidate your warranties, please call us to check which cleaning method is best for your particular fiber and carpet.

The best method, however, is to hire a professional carpet cleaner to give your carpets a thorough cleaning. When you decide to have your carpet cleaned professionally, choose the carpet cleaner with the same care you'd take in maintaining any major investment. Don't be afraid to ask your carpet cleaner for a reference or a firm estimate. And don't hesitate to call us for a recommendation.

Give It a Rest!

Redistributing the load your carpet bears can lengthen its life. So, rearrange your furniture periodically to give some areas of your carpet a rest.

Warranty and Required Maintenance

Regular carpet care and routine maintenance are essential to maintaining your warranty coverage. Over time, normal foot traffic and soiling will cause a change in any carpet's appearance. Hot water extraction, either alone or in combination with cleaning, is required to maintain your warranty.* The service must be performed by a trained carpet care professional every one and a half to two years to refresh the texture and rejuvenate the fibers in your carpet. You must retain your receipts for proof of maintenance service, should a warranty claim arise.

*Do not use hot water extraction with natural fibers. It may cause fading or shrinkage of wool or sisal.

Each fiber manufacturer has its own definitions and limitations regarding stain, soil and static resistance. Abnormal matting, crushing or loss of texture retention from normal foot traffic is defined by the standard rating scales and definitions set forth by each fiber manufacturer.

Things To Have Handy

The following solutions should be kept handy for treating spills and stains.

Detergent: Mix 1/2 teaspoon clear dishwashing detergent with 1 cup warm (not hot) water.

Pre-Soak Solution: Mix 1 teaspoon enzyme laundry detergent (such as Axion, Biz, or others) with 1 cup water.

Hydrogen Peroxide: Mix 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide (3% strength available in drugstores) with 1 teaspoon of household ammonia. Use within two hours of mixing.

Ammonia: Undiluted household ammonia.

Dry Powder Cleaner: Powdered carpet cleaner.

Dry Cleaning Solvent: Non-oily, non-caustic type sold for spot removal for garments. Caution–may be flammable.