Carpet Care

Carpet Care and Maintenance Feltex Carpets

Now that your new carpet has been professionally installed in your home, you'll want to make sure it is always looking its best. A comprehensive carpet care program consists of four elements: prevention, vacuuming, spot cleaning and steam cleaning.

Prevention

  • A good quality underlay will add to the life of your carpet.
  • Use outdoor mats to prevent soil and moisture being tracked into the home and clean them on a regular basis.
  • Use indoor mats or rugs in high traffic areas such as inside the front door or in front of chairs used for TV viewing, computer use and under tables.
  • Remember to regularly remove and clean rugs and clean and restore the carpet pile underneath.
  • Move heavy furniture occasionally to avoid excessive pile crushing. Prevent damage when moving furniture with heavy cardboard or similar between the furniture and the carpet.
  • Use coasters under the legs of tables, chairs and other furniture to distribute the weight and prevent crushing the pile.
  • In rooms that are subjected to direct sunlight, window tinting, curtains, blinds or awnings will protect your carpet from the effects of ultra violet light.

Vacuuming

  • Frequent and thorough vacuuming is the most important step in caring for your carpet, particularly in high-traffic areas.
  • A good quality vacuum cleaner is essential to prolonging the beauty and life of your carpet.
  • For low cut pile carpet, Feltex recommends the use of either an upright or quality barrel vacuum cleaner, fitted with a power driven rotating brush or combination eater/brush bar. For thicker carpet and carpets with a higher pile, the height of the beaters may be raised to make vacuuming easier.
  • To prevent excess fuzzing turn the brush off or change the head when vacuuming loop pile, cut loop pile or berber carpet.
  • For luxuriously thick, soft pile carpet, look for the following attributes when selecting a vacuum:
    Adjustable height – use the highest setting where appropriate.
    Adjustable suction – use a suction level which allows the vacuum to move easily while lifting the dirt and other foreign matter.
    Large wheels – the vacuum should glide easily across the carpet.
    Efficient airflow – avoid vacuums with very concentrated or sealed suction.
  • Thoroughly vacuum your carpet at least weekly, with three vacuum passes for lightly soiled areas and five to seven passes for heavily soiled areas..

Spot Cleaning

  • Remove as much of the spill as possible using a blunt knife or spoon for solids, blotting up liquids or using a wet/dry vacuum for large spills.
  • Never scrub or rub the carpet during the stain removal.
  • Always work from the outside of the stain in towards the middle.
  • Determine the appropriate method of carpet stain removal with our easy-to-follow steps on Spot Carpet Cleaning.

Steam Cleaning

  • Carpet should be professionally steam cleaned approximately every 12 - 18 months.
  • Steam cleaning should be done in accordance with Australian and New Zealand carpet cleaning and maintenance standard AS/NZS3733. Reputable carpet cleaners are aware of and abide by this standard.
  • Shampooing, DIY steam cleaning or dry carpet cleaning is not recommended.
  • Steam cleaning should be performed by a reputable professional carpet steam cleaner. Ask your Feltex carpet retailer to recommend one in your area.
Ask a retailer about a steam cleaner