10 Reasons To Clean Your Carpet Regularly

By Chuck RobertsSubmitted Content
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Previously, I wrote about why it's a great time to clean during cold-weather months. This time I want to inform you of 10 great reasons why you should clean your carpets (or rugs) on a regular basis.

Extend the wear life: Carpet and fiber manufacturers recommend carpets should be cleaned every 12 to 18 months. This helps remove damaging soils, keeps the appearance looking like new, and helps extend the wear life, maximizing your investment in your floor covering.

Indoor air quality: Carpets act like filters, trapping airborne pollutants. Dust, dander, pollen, pet hair, soils, etc. all contribute to our breathing unhealthy air. These pollutants must be removed to improve your indoor air quality, breathing, and helps protect the carpet and your investment.

Easy to maintain: Cleaning carpets before the spots and stains occur is much easier than afterwards. Most carpet soiling is from dry soils brought into the home. Regular vacuuming will remove approximately 70 percent of dry soils.

Spots and stains: Spots and stains often attract more soiling. This usually happens when homeowners use easy to purchase retail products. Unfortunately, many fail to read the small print and fail to test the product first. Usually this leads to either color loss or the product was not thoroughly rinsed leaving a slight, sticky residue which traps new soils, leading to rapid re-soiling.

Prevent buildup of allergens: If anyone in your family has breathing or allergy problems, a regular cleaning of your carpets can help remove many of the allergens or bacteria that has been hiding in your carpet (don't forget your furniture either!)


Improve appearance: Clean, well-maintained, like-new carpet makes a homeowner feel good about having guests in their home as well as the overall cleanliness of their home or facility.

Morale: Family members, guests, visitors, workers, staff, etc., all feel better about their environment when it's clean. This includes having clean, great-looking carpets, rugs, orientals, furniture.

Family fun: Having clean carpets and rugs invites your children, grandchildren, and others to have fun on the carpet, without having to worry about smelly, dirty, spots, stains, and soils showing.

Dust mites: Yuck! A thorough cleaning of your carpets and other furnishings will help remove dust mites and bedbugs which may have found a home in your home or facility.

Maintaining your carpet warranty: If you don't remember, you may want to review your carpet warranty. Most manufacturers require cleaning be conducted every 12-18 months, or within a specific time frame.

Chuck Roberts is owner of Roberts Carpet & Upholstery Care, an authorized Von Schrader Associate specializing in low-moisture cleaning. For more information, contact him at 413-458-9399 or robertscf@aol.com.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Berkshire Waldorf High School Secures $4M Donation

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Berkshire Waldorf High School announced that it has received $4 million from an anonymous donor toward renovation of Procter Hall, the Old Town Hall at 6 Main Street.
 
The school has completed the architectural phase of the project design and construction is now underway. Pamela Sandler, AIA, is the lead architect on the project, and Marois Construction is on-site doing the actual renovation. The project includes remediation of asbestos and lead paint, the addition of an elevator and sprinkler system, a redesign of the interior, and preservation of the upstairs meeting room and other historical features.
 
Berkshire Waldorf High School Executive Director Stephen Sagarin said he is thrilled and grateful for the gift, saying that that capital campaign donations earmarked to fund the renovation will enable the school "to double our current square footage, including creation of more and larger classrooms and science labs, while allowing us to remain in Stockbridge within walking distance of the town center. The construction should be complete by summer 2025."
 
"The Town of Stockbridge is well on its way of realizing its two–decades-old dream of finding a permanent use for this early 19th century historic structure," added Teresa O'Brient, chair of the board of trustees of Berkshire Waldorf High School, a longtime Stockbridge resident, and owner of the Stockbridge Country Store. "The community really stepped up to help us realize this dream."
 
The First Congregational Church, UCC, Stockbridge, voted last year to sell the building to Berkshire Waldorf High School. The Town of Stockbridge Selectboard and Planning Board approved the zoning variances this past winter. The sale closed in February 2024 and the school has been working closely with both the Church and the Stockbridge Golf Club to ensure that all parties' parking needs are met during construction.
 
Berkshire Waldorf High School CFO Patrick White observed that with this donation, funding for more than 80 percent of the anticipated construction budget is now in place. 
 
"We've already seen a significant need to tap into contingency funds, specifically related to availability of electrical services and the need to reinforce beams in both the front and the back of the building," he said. "We are confident the community will support this capital campaign and get us over the finish line." 
 
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