Carpet Care and Maintenance
How well you care for your carpet is a big factor to
making your carpet last years longer. Most homeowners don't do it right. If you don’t
clean your carpet before it gets dirty and vacuum on a regular basis, then you can kiss
about half of your carpet lifespan goodbye. And your carpet warranty demands
that you follow some basic carpet cleaning and maintenance guidelines. Alan's
Best Carpet Cleaning Directory
Oh, and another small thing you need to consider… Did
you have your new
carpet installed properly? If not, you may lose up to half of its
intended lifespan. Installed improperly will void your carpet warranty. Most
carpet installers are not properly trained and finding a qualified installer
can be difficult and time consuming.
Choosing the correct padding is critical. If you choose the
wrong padding, guess what? you got it, it voids your carpet warranty
and another half of your carpet's life span may be lost forever. With the
wrong pad your carpet could develop waves and wrinkles, the backing could
fall apart or it could begin to wear out & mat down quickly in all the
main walkways.
Common Carpet Shopping Mistakes
Most homeowners don't realize just how many costly
"mistakes" can be made during the carpet buying process. Any one
of these simple mistakes could cause your expensive new carpet to go the way of the dinosaurs faster
than a blazing comet!
Unscrupulous or inexperienced carpet salespeople surely won't
or can't tell you if
you are choosing the wrong carpet or padding. They will allow you make your
carpet
selection based on the color, the style, or based on what you can
afford. This is the wrong way to choose new carpet wisely.
You must choose
your new carpet based on how long you want it to last, how much foot traffic
you have in your home and how well the carpet is constructed. After you find
the right grade of carpet that is capable of tolerating your level of foot
traffic for the length of time you have in mind, then you can go about
looking at colors, styles and prices.
This is how and why my Carpet
Buying Guide will save you a whole lot of time and money. It's an instant
download and guaranteed to save you money.
Don't Let Carpet Salespeople Make Your
Choices.
Most carpet salespeople are afraid they will lose the sale if
they try to convince you to spend more money on a better grade of carpet,
even if it is the right thing for you to do! Take my free Carpet
Foot Traffic Test to see what grade of carpet you need to buy.
Don't Buy a Lower Grade of Carpet!
If money is tight, consider doing part of the home now and
then do the rest after you save up some more money. You must buy the right
grade of carpet that can tolerate your level of foot traffic in your home,
otherwise it will wear out in a hurry and you will NOT be happy. There is no
warranty coverage whatsoever if you choose a carpet that is not designed
to tolerate your
level of foot traffic.
Be Realistic About Your Carpet Choices
Sadly, way too many homeowners are more concerned about buying a
carpet that doesn't show footprints or vacuum marks then they are about
selecting a carpet that can withstand their level of foot
traffic. Folks, if you are on a budget and want to get the most value for
your money, then finding a carpet that doesn't show foot prints and vacuum
marks should be a low priority. Would you rather not see footprints but have
your carpet wear out in a short time? Start by knowing what grade of carpet
will withstand your level of foot traffic. Then consider cost. Weigh those two
factors out first before you move on to choosing the best color and style that
you prefer.
Don't Throw Your Money Away!
In the 12 years that I have been online helping homeowners
choose the right carpet, I have discovered that there are very few
homeowners
that can buy new carpet from start to finish without making at least one or
more
serious and costly mistakes along the way. Some folks are lucky and they get
professional help from a reputable carpet dealer, but finding a
reputable flooring dealer is becoming more difficult every day. Even if you
have a good friend in the carpet business, you still need to do your carpet
homework before you begin shopping. You can't expect any carpet salesperson to
make your carpet choices for you. If you do, you will have no one to blame but
yourself when your carpet doesn't last as long as you had expected. See
who I recommend near you
Carpet Warranties
I have to add a final word about carpet warranties that you
will find posted on the back of carpet samples. Some will list the amount of
time in which each aspect of the warranty will be covered. For example, some
carpets have a 10 year stain warranty. Others may have a lifetime stain
warranty. Either way, no carpet is stain proof and there are limitations to
these warranties that you need to know about. There is a long list of stains
that are not covered under the warranty.
Most carpets today come with some type of limited
"Texture Retention" warranty. This is where they give you some idea
about how long your carpet will continue to look like new. In this case, they
are talking about the appearance of your carpet. When the tufts start to
untwist your carpet will start to look bad. Carpets don't typically wear out,
they just start looking "ugly". If this happens to your carpet and
you want to submit a warranty claim, you will have some hoops to jump through.
In the end, it is highly doubtful that you will win your claim but even if you
do, they just give you a partial store credit for the affected areas and leave
you responsible for paying for all the extra fees and charges. Rarely do they
ever replace all the carpet unless you can prove that the carpet has an
obvious manufacturing defect. Good luck with that!
In the end, should you fail to follow any of the
manufacturers warranty instructions to the letter, your carpet warranty will
be null and void. Here are just a few of the requirements YOU are responsible
for:
- You must have your carpets professionally
cleaned periodically and keep all the receipts,
- Your carpet must have been installed in
accordance with the Carpet and Rug Institute's guidelines,
- You must have selected a padding of the
correct type, thickness and density rating,
- You must have chosen a carpet designed
for and capable of withstanding your level of foot traffic.
My 136-page Carpet
Buying Guide is your Key to Success. Order it now, read it and as a bonus
I'll answer all the carpet questions you might have along the way.
It's 100% guaranteed to save you time & money! It doesn't get any better than that!
Don't let a mere $14.95 stand in the way between you and a satisfying carpet
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