Posted by Kevin McKee on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 @ 09:47 PM
You have had your carpet for some time, but you are starting to notice that the carpet is looking a bit gray or dingy everywhere you walk on a regular basis: down the hall, around the corner, in your master closet, it seems to be everywhere. What causes this traffic lane gray and what can you do about it?
First off, you need to understand a bit about the construction of your carpet. Most carpet installed in residential homes is made from plastic strands that are twisted together into bundle wraps. Bundle wraps make up the yarns that are woven into the soft, colorful, lustrious carpet that you have come to love. Now this carpet fiber can be made up of different polymers and strands, each with its own characteristics: some good, some not so desirable. We will discuss these different fibers at another time.
So you have this gorgeous carpet and you start to walk on it. Dirt, grime, sand, grit and all sorts of things get tracked in and stuck in these fibers. We all know this happens, so we try to vacuum on a regular basis. The only problem is that sand or dirt under a microscope looks like tiny pieces of glass. These small pieces of sand or dirt have dozens of sharp cutting edges and each time they rub or touch up against a fiber, they cut or mar that fiber.
You are probably thinking, no big deal. It is such a small scratch who would ever notice. That is probably true, but we are talking about hundreds, and thousands of these scratches on a lustrious carpet and before you know it, you have done irreversible damage to the carpet fiber. Once that fiber has been scratched, the light that reflects back to you (which gives you color) will never be the same. Eventually it will look dingy and give you the dreaded "traffic lane gray". All because of some little dirt.
Now, not all the gray color in your traffic lanes is related to just scratches. Most likely there is quite a bit of dirt and oil that has built up and is locked up in the carpet fiber that only a good carpet cleaning can remedy and restore. However, most likely, underneath that dirt can be damaged carpet that no carpet cleaning will be able to fully revitalize.
Just think about a small, shiny, red, plastic fire engine truck. Once it has been scratched, you can never fix it. Now imagine, hundreds of these scratches and that shiny red plastic will start to look dull, dingy, and pretty old. No longer will it look so vibrant and shiny like it did when it was first purchased.
So what can you do?
Your best ounce of prevention is to vacuum. Vacuum frequently, especially in your traffic areas. Today most manufacturers mandate at least daily vacuuming of traffic lanes in order to protect your carpet warranty. This is required because the manufacturers know that the longer you leave this dirt in the carpet and allow it to cut and mar the fibers, the faster it will look dirty and dingy. These problems typically get associated with the construction of the carpet which is completely unrelated, and due solely to poor maintenance over time.
After you have vacuumed regularly, manufacturer's also advise hot water extraction for regular deep carpet cleaning at least every 24 months by a certified carpet cleaning firm (make sure to read your warranty).
Zerorez® Carpet Cleaning Dallas can and will definitely help to revitalize the look and luster of the carpet, even though we can't reverse all the scratches and marring from .