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.

Nonprofit Center Announces Retirement of Founder

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.— Liana Toscanini, founder of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires (NPC), is stepping down from her role as Executive Director in the spring of 2026.
 
NPC was founded in 2016 with a mission to help nonprofits connect, learn and grow. Toscanini turns 65 as NPC celebrates its tenth anniversary next year. 
 
"It seems like an opportune moment to introduce new leadership to guide the organization to the next level," said Toscanini.
 
The idea for a nonprofit support center evolved from Toscanini's decades of involvement in numerous small civic and nonprofit groups, including a nine-year tenure at Community Access to the Arts (CATA). Toscanini pursued her vision of an infrastructure organization to help support the large and growing Berkshire nonprofit sector. She funded the start-up nonprofit herself and tirelessly developed multiple revenue streams to keep programs and services free or low-cost for nonprofits. Similar to a Chamber of Commerce, NPC serves as the trusted clearinghouse for practical information for Berkshire nonprofits, and is now a vital resource for the community.
 
"NPC has been a steady, genuine force for good. They meet you where you are and create a true sense of community among nonprofits," said Natale Monroe, founder of Embrace & Empower, a nonprofit focused on health equity and cancer survivor support.
 
Today, NPC serves over 200 nonprofit members thanks to strong support from the business community, individuals, foundations, and the Commonwealth in the form of an earmark. Seventy percent of the organization's annual budget of $400,000 comes from contributions. "Anticipating continued growth, we recently added the positions of Associate Director and Operations Manager," said NPC Board Chair Emily Schiavoni. 
 
An award-winning organization, NPC currently offers two dozen programs and services. Its signature offerings include The Giving Back guide, the Berkshire Nonprofit Awards, and a philanthropy curriculum for 8th graders. Over ten years, NPC has presented nearly 200 workshops and facilitated thousands of referrals and requests for advice. NPC's programs are seen as a model by other nonprofit support centers around the country.
 
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