Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Given Answers to . . . Frequently Asked Questions
1. So How Does The Keep It Clean™ Program Work Anyway?
You must have a minimum of 500 square feet of installed NEW carpet purchased from an authorized Keep It Clean™ carpet store or home-builder to qualify.
You must register on this website within 30 days of installation (or home possession)
Upon registering you will gain member access to our Happy & Healthy Home™ Carpet & IAQ Resource Center where you'll find lots of great information and tips on how to; keep your carpet looking like new, deal with occasional spills and accidents and the latest information on maintaining healthy indoor quality including access to our Special Report called, “7 IAQ Tips Most Drug Companies Hope You Overlook”.
At roughly 11 months you'll receive an email notification that you will be contacted shortly by telephone to schedule your free cleaning visit and reminded to have your carpet purchase / installation invoice handy.
On the day of your appointment we'll conduct a thorough Healthy Home Carpet Analysis™, inspecting the condition of your carpet and providing you with complimentary personalized care and maintenance recommendations.
We'll measure the open areas of your new carpet (i.e. areas not covered by furnishing) and you'll receive absolutely free cleaning on those areas up to a maximum 300 sq.ft without any further commitments, obligations of any kind.
Any other areas you may wish to have cleaned or other services you choose to have performed will be strictly at your discretion and will be priced separately with the benefit to you that all minimum charges will be waived due to your complimentary Keep It Clean™ visit.
2. What If My Carpets Don't Look Dirty In 12 Months?
Although improving and maintaining the appearance of your carpets is the main reason why most people have them cleaned, there are other important factors to consider. Environmental pollutants get trapped in our homes every day. Fabrics help keep them out of the air we breathe by trapping them but these pollutants can build up in fabrics at an alarming rate. The range of contaminants can be vast including; lawn fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, cooking vapors, tobacco smoke, food crumbs, beverage spills, hair, dead skin cells, pollen and insect remains to name a few, all of which provide a food source for harmful micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, dust mites and mold.
Not only will these pollutants rob your carpet of it's vibrant color, if you or your family suffer from allergies, asthma, emphysema or other breathing problems then this is another reason to clean your carpets and remove these contaminants.
3. I Heard You Should Wait As Long As Possible Before Getting Your Carpets Cleaned Or They'll Just Get Dirty Faster?
Ya, I've heard that too but the reality is it's simply NOT TRUE. Dirt is abrasive - just like sandpaper. Every time you step on your carpet, you grind abrasive dirt into your carpet fibers. A dirty carpet will not last nearly as long as a clean carpet and while vacuuming helps, by itself, its simply not enough. The fact is longer you wait to have your carpets cleaned, the more damage you can do to your carpet, the faster it will wear out and the sooner you will have to go through the expense of replacing your carpets.
4. What Should I Do If I Happen To Spill Something On My Carpet?
Once you've registered and have access to our Happy & Healthy Home™ Carpet & IAQ Resource Center you'll find lots of detailed advice for specific types of spotting but in general; i) blot don't rub, ii) work for the edge of the spill in toward the middle and iii) keep a bottle of club soda handy as a safe, gentle, residue free all-purpose spotter.
5. I've Recently Heard That Carpet Is Actually Healthier To Have Than Hard Floor, Is That True?
Absolutely! Contrary to old beliefs, many resent studies including the 2002 European Community Respiratory Health Survey have shown "overwhelmingly that wall-to-wall carpeting in bedrooms were related to fewer asthma symptoms and less bronchial responsiveness."
The reason is simple, wall-to-wall carpets can represent the largest air filter in your home, effectively trapping pollutants, dust, pollen and other allergens keeping them out of the air you and your family breathe. You may be wondering “if carpets filter pollution from my indoor air, why do some allergists say to remove them?”The truth is some allergists and doctors prescribe to allergen avoidance in the belief that the removal of all possible places where allergens are held, will reduce allergic symptoms. This outdated approach makes about as much sense as the notion that discarding trash containers would solve our trash problem.
You see, although allergen (dust, pollen, mold spores etc) may have been present in your carpet, carpet is not a source of these airborne allergen that produce allergic symptoms. Hard flooring in no way reduces the number of allergens in your home and in fact, hard floor areas have been shown to actually increase the amount of airborne allergens because they do not offer the capability of holding those allergens. Inside the Happy & Healthy Home™ Carpet & IAQ Resource Center you'll find lots more IAQ information and links to many of the latest reports and studies.
6. What Can I Do To Maintenance My Carpets Like New Appearance?
Vacuum your carpet every 2nd or 3rd day using a well maintained, true HEPA filtered vacuum or central vacuum that exhausts to the outside. This will not only help remove the larger particles of sand and grit before they have a chance to cause permanent damage, but it will also help remove the micro particles that your carpet has trapped and filtered out of your indoor air thus helping to maintain better indoor air quality.
Use walk-off mats in areas where you transition from hard floor or outside onto carpet to help collect the soiling off your feet before it is track onto the carpet fibers.
If you have inside / outside pets, their foot pads can collect lots of soiling (among other things) so make sure to wipe off their paws upon entering to prevent them form tracking all sorts of unmentionables into your home and onto your flooring.
Clean of spots and spills immediately, before they set and only use the appropriate safe spotters from the list found in the Happy & Healthy Home™ Carpet & IAQ Resource Center. Many commercial spotting product do more damage than good, can permanently set stains and leave harmful, dirt attracting residues behind.
Have you carpets professionally cleaned by a quality provider using safe, healthy products and method on a regular basis. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others recommend having your high-use areas cleaned every 6 to 12 months to maintain their appearance and healthful properties.
7. Who Are The Services Provided By?
You'll be happy to know that with the Keep It Clean™ program, your carpets will be maintained by Chem-Dry, the world's leader for carpet and upholstery cleaning services since 1977 due to it's exclusive, effervescent carbonating process. With over 4000 outlets in 50 countries, cleaning an estimated one billion square feet of carpet each year in all styles of homes ...including famous royal palaces!
8. What Makes This "Carbonating" Process So Different?
Have you ever used club soda to remove a stain from a shirt? Then you know how the carbonating principle works. What makes Chem-Dry the world's favorite carpet and upholstery cleaning service is their patented carbonating cleaning solution called The Natural™. Their secret to a Drier, Cleaner, Healthier clean is the millions of microscopic carbonating cleaning bubbles that penetrate deep into the base of the carpet, literally exploding dirt and grime off the fibers and lifting them to the surface where they are extracted away. Chem-Dry leaves your home smelling fresh with carpets that are dry in 1 - 2 hours as opposed to 1 - 2 days which is common with most other methods.
9. Will The Keep It Clean™ Program Void My Carpet Manufacturers Warranty?
Absolutely Not! In fact most manufacturers require you have your carpets professionally cleaned annually with a hot water extraction method to ensure warranty compliance. For high traffic areas and extra dirty areas, a more regular routine may be required. Chem-Dry’s hot carbonating extraction cleaning meets major carpet manufacturers’ warranty requirements while providing a deep clean that dries in only 1-2 hours.
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