What is carpet?

Well put simply, carpet is a textile floor covering. The term carpet derives from the old Italian "carpire" meaning to pluck. Carpet typically consists of an upper level of pile attached to some sort of backing. The pile is generally either made of wool or man-made fibers such as polypropylene or nylon and sometimes polyester. The top, soft, visible layer of carpet usually consists of twisted tufts, cut pile, and many times is treated with heat or other chemicals to maintain their structure.

The term carpet is usually interchanged with the term rug, but they are not the same thing. A carpet is usually stretched over tack strip for a wall-to-wall effect. A rug is typically a standalone piece that is bound on the edges to prevent fraying. Most carpet today is made of either nylon or polypropylene, nylon being the most common material used for home carpet. Nylon can be dyed and can even be solution dyed. Nylon has excellent work characteristics. These same characteristics that make nylon carpet fibers easy to die also make them easy to stain. The die that sits on the carpet fibers has to be filled to add stain resistance. Overall nylon is the best fiber for carpet construction.

Secondly Polypropylene is used to produce many of the newer carpets mainly because it is inexpensive and highly stain resistant. It is however difficult to die and does not wear quite as well as wool or nylon. Most Berber carpets are made of polypropylene as are most commercial glue down - low pile carpets. Polypropylene carpets are many times referred to as "Oliphin". Polypropylene fibers tend to crush easily, therefore are used mostly in commercial low pile, tightly woven glue down carpets. When choosing carpet for your home nylon is typically the best all-around fiber it will give you many years of use, it is easily maintained, it also has good cleaning characteristics.

Is my carpet dirty?

It is said that a carpet can hold up to 10 pounds of dirt in one square yard. Before it even LOOKS dirty!

What that translates into is the average home can have over 1500, yes 1500, pounds of dirt in the carpet before it even looks soiled. Just imagine how much dirt is in your carpet when it starts looking bad. Ameri-Clean can easily remove all of this soil for you. With 26 years experience and hundreds of millions of square feet of carpet cleaning under our belt, we are the ones to call.

Did you know that according to the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration (IIRC) you should have your carpets cleaned AT LEAST 1 TIME PER YEAR depending on the amount of traffic? The IIRC is a professional association that trains & monitors cleaning technicians throughout the United States.

These standards provide the guidelines used by the Carpet Industry to give your carpet the longest life possible. You probably know that carpet cleaning is a necessity and will extend the life of your carpet and make your home environment a much healthier happier place to reside. How often you should clean your carpet depends on several factors.

1. The best case scenario would be to clean your carpet at least once a year. Even if the carpet gets no traffic whatsoever it is subject to dust dirt and environmental contaminants.
2. The next interval would be every 6 to 9 months if you have normal to light traffic from pets and children.
3. If you have even more traffic and more kids, or if you're a smoker then you want to have your carpet professionally cleaned every 3 to 6 months particularly in living dining rooms hallways and stairs.
4. If your situation has even more traffic, pets,dust and dirt you will probably want to clean your carpet every 2 to 3 months. Call Ameri-Clean. We can advise you as to the frequency needed for your particular situation.