Most homeowners find it easier to hire a carpet cleaning service to clean their carpets. Many homeowners don't realize they can and should, clean their upholstered furniture at the same time as they're getting the carpets done. While you're going to pay for this service, it will also help you extend the life of your carpets and furniture by several years which means the service can more than pay for itself.
If you're like me, you tend to schedule the carpets to be cleaned after there's an accident that leaves too big a stain to ignore. Maybe you've gotten some new living room furniture and you want to spruce up the entire room. If you create a schedule for more consistent cleaning, your carpeting will last longer.
Getting on a Professional Cleaning Schedule
Of course everyone should do their best to spot clean immediately after an accident. That's common sense isn't it. If you don't already have a schedule for cleaning your carpets, it's unlikely you're going to have one for furniture. The best thing to do is establish a cleaning schedule for your home, that includes carpeting, rugs and furniture. Here are some recommendations from CarpetCleaner.com, on how often you should clean your carpets … and you can add your furniture
| How much traffic? | Homeowner Cleaning | Professional Cleaning | |
| Vacuuming | Clean heavy traffic areas | Clean entire rooms / house | |
| Light soil | Once a week | 12-18 months | Every 2 years or per manufacturer |
| Normal wear & tear | 1-2 times/week | 6-12 months | Every year |
| Heavy soil (pets & smoking) | 2-4 times/week | 3-6 months | Twice a year |
| Extreme soil (large families & multiple pets) | Every day | 2-3 months | 4 Times a year |
Professional Cleaning for Furniture
If you've never had any furniture cleaned professionally, you might enjoy the following article, Out Dammed Spot! Chairs, Sofas Cleaned. The best part is a table (appears to have been removed from original article) at the end of the article with details about the “test jobs” which were done in Chicago, New York City, Brookline MA, and Garrison NY.
- Company & test location
- Items cleaned, including prices
- Eco options available
- Comments about the process & results
This article also identified the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a not-for-profit group, which has more than 8,500 technicians certified specifically in upholstery and fabric cleaning in the U.S. Trained cleaners are listed on their website, cleaners trained under its criteria at www.certifiedcleaners.org.
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