Before answering the question, there are two misconceptions that need to be cleared up:
Misconception #1: Wait as long as possible before cleaning your carpet.
Dirt is an abrasive, like sandpaper. Every time you step on your carpet, dirt is ground into the carpet and cuts the carpet fibers. A dirty carpet will not last as long as a clean carpet. Vacuuming helps, but by itself, it is simply not enough. A good test to see how much your vacuum is actually picking up is to vacuum a throw rug then take it outside and shake it. You will see how much dirt and dust will still come out of the rug, even though it was just vacuumed. The longer you wait to have your carpet cleaned, the more damage is done to your carpet and the faster it wears out.
Misconception #2: The only reason to clean my carpet is to remove the dirt, so if I can’t see the dirt, it doesn’t need to be cleaned.
Outdoor air contains pollen, fungus, bacteria, air pollution, cigarette smoke, car exhaust and hundreds of other chemicals. When you enter your home, you carry this pollen
, bacteria, and chemicals on your hair, skin, clothing and shoes. Not surprisingly, all those chemicals and toxins wind up in your carpet. If you have allergies, asthma, emphysema, or other breathing problems, one major source of the problems could be the pollens, fungus, smoke, and chemicals in your carpet. This should be a good reason to get your carpets cleaned sooner rather than later. Just think, if you only “vacuumed” the stains out of your clothes instead of washing them in hot water- the clothes would never come clean.
In answer to the question, it is recommended to get your carpets cleaned every 6-12 months depending on the “traffic” in the home, i.e. the number of occupants and pets. At ARS we use a truck-mounted hot water extraction system called a Vortex (the type of cleaning recommended by the leading carpet manufacturers Shaw and Mohawk) a system guaranteed to give your carpets the best cleaning ever.