Can old dirty carpet be cleaned ?

When to Replace Carpet: Signs It Can No Longer Be Cleaned

Carpets can tend to get a little grubby from time to time, if high traffic areas this can occur pretty quickly too. How can you tell when a carpet has had its time? When do you know that replacing the carpet is the only option left? Replacing carpet can be very costly so you want to make sure that you have no other options before taking that leap. Sometimes carpets can be cleaned even if they look beyond that stage so we are going to discuss some key factors on how to determine when it’s time to replace that old carpet.

So what are some key factors to consider when deciding whether to clean your carpets? 

Read also: How can someone keep carpet clean with kids ? 

How old is the carpet? 

Firstly, let’s look at the age of the carpet. The age of the carpet can help decide whether it’s time to get new ones or not. We would usually recommend a well maintained carpet can last you approximately 10-15 years, this can be stretched even longer if the carpet is maintained regularly and cleaned professionally once or more a year. You may find that the closer your carpet gets to its 20 year old mark the more shaggy and worn it becomes. Once it starts to fray and tear this is when you would have no choice but to replace the carpet as this cannot be fixed via steam cleaning. Now the age of the carpet can be drastically jeopardized depending on the carpet’s location, for example, carpets in the bedroom will not receive quite as much wear and tear as say a carpet located in the hallway or stairs. We class these areas as high traffic areas. Areas that receive more wear than a bedroom as there are always people coming and going. Halls in particular being as people may walk in with the shoes on still from outside, this would result in a higher chance of staining. So to summarise a carpet that is only 6/7 years old should provide it has been looked after, be able to be steam cleaned and receive a great result when steam cleaned as a carpet that is nearing its end of life of 20 years may be better to replace. 

Check also: How to Deep Clean Carpet: The Complete Homeowner’s Guide

Staining and Odours

Carpets can easily fall victim to spills and staining from improper protection and maintenance. Homes with children and pets are even more likely to have more spills and dirt brought in. If left untreated these stain can penetrate the deeper fibres of the carpet making them harder to remove, and in worst cases might not be able to be fully removed. This means you may end up paying out for a professional cleaning company in London and then also having to fork out for a new carpet if the staining can not be removed. Attempting to clean the carpets yourself, although considerably cheaper, can also result in more damage being caused thus resulting in paying for replacements of the carpet anyway. Thai is why we always suggest getting your carpets clean using a trustworthy carpet cleaning company in London to complete the cleaning. Not only stain, too smelly odours can cling to the carpet fibres causing the entire room to smell. odours are hard to remove when you don’t have the correct equipment to do so. Using professional deodorisers will help eliminate all odours leaving a sweet scent from the cleaning products used during the clean. 

Read also: How To Clean a Carpet By Hand ?

What is the difference in cost?

When booking a professional cleaning company in London there are so many options out there when it comes to cost. What you have to remove is that the cheapest company available may not necessarily be the best one quality wise. You can accept the cheapest company but you may find that the results of the actual cleaning are lacking in many areas such as removing stain and odours. They may be able to get the carpet looking better but can they make it look brand new. This is why we recommend going in a middle ground, not the cheapest but also not the most expensive either. The key to finding the best carpet cleaning company is to do your research. Shop around , check their reviews and see what past customers have to say about their work. A great clean we would say would average between £50-£80 per room. This would be for a standard sized Bedroom/Living room. All great companies will also have a showcase on their webpage of their work. Before and after photos to show you just how well they have restored carpets in the past. 

The cost of completely replacing your carpets however can set you back anywhere between £300-£2000 this includes fitting of the carpets. So as you can see there is a huge difference

increase in pricing especially when booking carpet cleaners is so easy to do. The majority of the time carpets can be saved and this is why we try and persuade people to at least try carpet steam cleaning first. 

Check also: Can old dirty carpet be cleaned ? 

Assessing the Carpet before making a decision. 

Before making any choices lets go through what you should check for in your carpet. 

• Check the carpet for any stubborn staining, any spills that may have occurred over the years. Food, Drink, Urine. All of these can be treated with a steam clean. 
• Check for Odours, these can be caused by spills (Urine/Feces) or there can be odours from airborne scents such as cooking certain foods, old football boots/ shoes. All of these can be treated with a steam clean. 
• Water Damage or mold, This can be caused from spills that haven’t been cleaned up, damp conditions over time or Flooding that wasn’t completely dried. If your home experiences cold spots from outside usually on external walls but the temperature in the home is fairly warm the two temperatures clash causing dampness. This will cause mould spores to form. This is usually found in the underlayers between the carpet and underlay. This could be treated with a steam clean, however this would have to be assessed to see if it is too far gone to be rescued. 
• Rips, Fraying fabrics, Flat spots (where the fibres have been worn away) or Edging lifting. This is wear and tear and would not usually be able to be fixed with steam cleaning. Flat spots that are simply fibres of the carpet that have been flattened (by furniture)  however could stand a chance at being rescued with a steam cleaning. The brushes on the carpet steam machines will help brush flattened fibres back up and give it back its bouncy new texture. 

Read also: Cleaning Process of Silk Rugs and Carpets

So all in all, Carpet Steam Cleaning can:

1. Revive the Carpets appearance by removing years and years of grime, dirt, staining and dust. 

2. Create a healthier living environment, removing all those dirt particles and spores that may be floating around in the air every time you walk on it. 

3. Give your home a fresh smelling home once again, removing all odours and replacing it with a sweet clean scent. 

4. Keep the costs down, reducing the cost dramatically as well as eliminating the stress of finding a new carpet you like. 

Charlene Watson

With Many Years experience, Charlene Joined us in 2015 as our Main Company Writer and Bloger, Responsible for Dealing with all Website Written and Articles.