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.

Greenagers Founder Will Conklin Honored as Business Person of the Year

By Breanna Steele

Casey Pease of state Sen. Paul Mark's office presents William Conklin, right, with a state Senate proclamation.
EGREMONT, Mass. — The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce honored a local businessman and nonprofit leader on Sept. 24 at Catamount Mountain Resort.
 
William Conklin was this year's Business Person of the Year, recognizing his work as founder and executive director of Greenagers, a nonprofit that helps youth and children engage in work in environmental conservation, sustainable farming, natural resource management, and vocational skills building. 
 
Conklin and his family also run Sky View Farm and he is a managing partner of Konkapot Tree and Timber, a small-scale forest products business.
 
"If you spent any amount of time in Southern Berkshire, chances are you've heard his name, whether you realize the connection at the time or not," said board member Sierra King Watson, who emceed the event. "You might be having a conversation about farming, a new barn or structure that was built, students learning hands-on skills in sustainable agriculture, or a family that receives donated firewood to help keep their home warm through a cold Berkshire winter, or maybe you're simply talking about one of those community leaders who somehow manages to show up, support everyone, and seemingly be everywhere all at once.
 
"Well, one name has a way of continuously popping up, and that is Will Conklin."
 
Board President Mark Rulison said the region has more than 1,200 nonprofits. One in four jobs in the county is in the nonprofit sector, which ranks 27th nationally for nonprofit employment. He said the economic impact on the community is huge, thanking those who help.
 
For the event on Thursday, Conklin requested that as much of the food as possible was sourced locally. Most of it came from Greenagers, Sky View Farm, Indian Line Farm and Fancy Feast Supper Club, creative dinner series. 
 
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