Shag carpeting is usually very beautiful and enhances the appearance and decor of any room, but it is also usually difficult to maintain and clean properly. The shag is created from looped piles of fibers, with various combinations of length and density.

Thick, dense shag is a perfect repository for grit and grime, and is also a perfect hiding and breeding place for those microbes and creeping crawling critters that is often tracked into our homes on the bottom of our shoes. It is also easier for dirt and soils and any other kind of stain to build up on the long fibers and eventually migrate down to the shag carpet backing.

It is therefore essential that shag carpet should be vacuumed often, and cleaned regularly. Be careful with the vacuuming though. Some types of household vacuum cleaners could snag the long fibers and cause the carpet to get torn. Always follow the carpet manufacturer’s recommendation about the type of vacuum cleaner that may be used on your carpet or you could void the warranty.

Periodic, light, maintenance cleaning should be done two to four times per year, depending on the traffic in your home, but deep cleaning must be done at least once per year, even if the carpet appears to be clean. This is not only for health reasons, but also to preserve the life of the carpet, since abrasive dirt particles residing among the carpet fibers could lead to excessive wear over time.

Household vacuums are not powerful enough to lift all the detritus from the bottom of the carpet pile, so for proper deep cleaning, you will need to call in a professional who will use a powerful truck mounted vacuum system. A good professional carpet cleaner will have the knowledge and experience that is necessary to do a competent cleaning job on your shag carpet.

The carpet must first be vacuumed thoroughly, and then raked with a carpet groomer. Incidentally, if you have shag carpet in your home, it is advisable that you also have a carpet groomer, to rake your carpet each time before you vacuum. You will be amazed at what you might see coming up out of your carpet. You may find a groomer at any good janitorial supply store.

The next step is to remove all apparent spots and stains. If you know what the stain is, you may remove it with an appropriate solvent. Nonetheless, be advised that it is much more difficult to remove stain from plush pile carpets.

Then afterwards, an emulsifier is applied to the carpet to loosen the dirt. The carpet should then be raked again in order to distribute the solvent evenly on all sides of the fibers.

After an appropriate dwell time, usually 15 to 20 minutes, the carpet is rinsed with hot softened water, and the dirty solution extracted and the carpet partially dried with the powerful vacuum system.

The rest of the drying process is effected at ambient temperature, over time, or with a suitable air mover.

Author Bio: Victor Nugent is Owner and President of AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. with over 10 years experience in the Carpet Cleaning business. For more cleaning tips call AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc. at 801 368-0705. Or visit us at AJS Carpet Cleaning, Inc.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: clean shag carpeting,carpet cleaning,carpet fibers,shag carpeting,shag carpet,dense shag