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7 Benefits of Having Carpet in Your Home
With so many flooring options available to folks looking to upgrade their living space, it can be a challenge to decide what to actually put on your floor. If you are considering replacing your carpet with wood or tile, or are considering other flooring options, maybe it’s time to reconsider carpet.
Here are seven great reasons to consider carpeting for your home.
1. Comfort. If you think you’ll be spending any time on your floor, carpeting is a great choice. Hard surfaces, like wood or tile, are just that – hard. Because tile and wood flooring are inflexible, every time you walk across them your body is getting impacted. Carpeting is a great option for families with little ones who are learning to crawl or walk, too.
2. Warmth. Winter in Toronto gets cold. Keeping your home warm through long, cold winter months is easier when you have the insulating benefits of carpet. According to a study by the Georgia Technology School of Textile Engineering, carpeting provides a higher insulation factor1.
3. Quiet. Have you ever noticed how loud it can be in rooms with hard floors? That’s because hard surfaces, like tile and wood floors, can’t absorb sound so it bounces around. Carpet is naturally more absorbent and makes the space it’s in much quieter.
4. Safety. You already know that carpet is more absorbent, but it can make rooms safer than tile or other hard surfaces. Carpets can provide a soft landing for little ones who are more accident prone, but it can also prevent accidents from happening on places like stairs. Carefully chosen stair carpeting can prevent slips and falls – especially in homes with folks who may have mobility issues.
5. Health. If you have allergies or asthma, you have probably been told to get rid of all the carpeting in your home. A 2005 study done by the German Allergy and Asthma society found that rooms with bare floors, “the risk of more airborne fine particles rises, while the use of wall-to-wall carpeting minimizes the risk.2” It’s actually the fact that carpet holds allergens that gives carpet the advantage. Just make sure to have a professional Toronto carpet cleaning company come in to professionally clean your carpets at least twice a year – if not more frequently.
6. Style. Carpet can truly transform a room. With so many options and styles to choose from, you can change the entire look and feel of a room just with the addition of carpet.
7. Cost. Generally speaking, carpet costs less than hard surfaces like tile or hardwood. Some tile types and hardwood require special cleaning products, which can be costly over the long run. Carpet is usually less expensive to maintain – as long as you take care of it.
Want more information about maintaining the carpet in your home? Call Dr. Carpet today 647.800.5199
Has your carpet gone from flat to wrinkled? It may be time to have it re-stretched.
Has your carpet gone from flat to wrinkled? It may be time to have it re-stretched.
If your carpet is wrinkled or lose, you may think that you need to have it replaced entirely. That’s not necessarily the case. Most often, wrinkles, buckling, and lose carpet can be repaired fairly easily by giving it a “facelift”. Carpet re-stretching will remove the wrinkles and buckling from your carpet and give it a fresh new look.
Just like most other things in your home, carpets have a lifespan. On average a carpet can last fifteen years or so, as long as you take care of it. There are several culprits that can cause your carpet to buckle and wrinkle.
The padding may be low quality – or the wrong kind.
If your carpet installer tried to save some money on installation and didn’t check the manufacturer’s specifications for padding, or used a low quality underpad, it may be why your carpet is wrinkling.
The installation was not done correctly
The most common cause of carpet wrinkling is simply improper or insufficient stretching when your carpet was initially installed. The process of making carpets has changed over the years and carpets are stiffer now. If your carpet installer used only a knee kicker instead of a pole or power stretcher, your carpet probably wasn’t stretched to the manufacturer’s specifications. This is why it is imperative to hire a professional carpet installer who stays up-to-date on the latest changes in his or her industry.
Delamination
Delamination is what happens when your carpet separates from its backing. You should check your warranty and make a claim, because delamination may be the result of a manufacturing issue. But delamination can also be the result of humidity or other moisture build-up from flooding or vapour rising up from holes in the concrete slab that your carpet is on.
Too much water
Over wetting, which is usually the result of improperly applied carpet cleaning techniques, but can also be the result of flooding or other moisture build-up, can cause your carpet to wrinkle and buckle.
Environmental contributions
Two more factors to consider are humidity and temperature. If your carpet was installed during a particularly humid day, that may be a contributing factor to your carpet wrinkling. If your carpet installer did not let the carpet acclimate to the environment prior to installing it, that may be part of the buckling problem. Homes or rooms that reach high temperatures (above 85-degrees Fahrenheit) for extended periods of time can also cause your carpet to warp.
Carpet restretching can extend the life of your carpet and give your home a “fresh carpet” feel. For more information about carpet repairs, carpet restretching, or to get your free quote, please call Dr. Carpet at 647.800.5199. We specialize in all kinds of carpet repairs for loose, buckling, frayed, torn, stained, and water damaged carpets in the Greater Toronto Area.
Why Does That Stain Keep Reappearing on My Carpet?
You had a few guests over one night and something got spilled on your carpet. You immediately cleaned it up and made sure to get up every visible drop. Then, a few days later, you notice that the carpet looks stained again.
Is this a figment of your imagination? Has the stain come back to haunt you? It is not your imagination or a ghostly apparition; that stain is definitely back. Let us tell you why.
Soiling from the Carpet Cleaner
If you did not thoroughly clean up all the cleanser you used to get up the stain, the residue may have lingered in the carpet fibres. That residue becomes sticky and attracts new dirt and dust, which can make it seem like the original stain has returned.
Wicking from Subsurfaces
If you properly rinsed and blotted the stain on your carpet, chances are you weren’t able to thoroughly dry the backing of the carpet. Sometimes, if the spill was large enough, even the underpad may be wet. Even though you got the stain out of the carpet, it may be reabsorbing liquid from the surfaces underneath – essentially re-staining the carpet.
Wicking is usually seen in carpets that are wet – especially if you have attempted to steam clean your carpets yourself. Rental steam cleaning units are simply not powerful enough to extract all of the water from the carpet fibres and the resulting wetness can cause your carpet to “wick up” the liquid from underneath it. To ensure wicking does not happen to your carpet, you should always hire your local Toronto carpet cleaning company when you need your carpets steam cleaned.
You Can Prevent Reappearing Stains from Happening
As soon as you notice a spill you should clean it immediately, in order to stop liquid from seeping into the sublayers. After treating your carpet, place a stack of paper towels or a light-coloured towel down on the stain, and use a heavy object, like a stack of books, to weigh it down. The weight will help the towels absorb any extra moisture that may remain in the carpet.
In extreme cases, you may need to pull back the carpet to let the underpad – and possibly subfloor – dry out. Once you are sure that everything is completely dry, you can reinstall your carpet. It is always recommended that you bring in a professional service before attempting to remove or reinstall carpet, in order to ensure a proper restretching of your carpet.
If you suspect that soiling may be the culprit, pour a small amount of lukewarm water on the spot – just enough to re-saturate the trapped cleanser. Blot up as much of the water as you can then place a stack of paper towels or light-coloured towel down on the spot, weighing it down.
If you are still having a difficult time getting rid of stains from your carpet, it is time to call in the professionals. Our team of professional carpet cleaners and repairers will help you get your carpet back into pre-stain condition. For more information, or for your free quote, please call Dr. Carpet today at 647.800.5199 today!