As a carpet cleaning professional, naturally I see carpets in all kinds of conditions, most of them in need of some pretty serious maintenance! Though I’m kind of new at the business (about six months now), I’m already seeing certain patterns and relationships between peoples’ behavior and their carpets. I’m not talking about those who spill their coffee and those who don’t. I’m talking about those who wear shoes in the house and those who don’t. Big difference, folks! It usually only takes a short glance at someone’s carpet to know who has a shoes-off policy and who doesn’t.
Shoes-on houses tend to have big dark stains in the high-traffic areas, such as doorways, hallways, and entries. I’m fairly sure this is caused by tar and road grease that the bottoms of your shoes pick up from the big, bad greasy world out there. When you walk across that grocery store parking lot, think of all the oils that are there, that eventually end up inside your house!
In addition to the grease spots, I notice that the carpet fibers get very worn out at the high-use areas, because shoe soles are naturally harder than socks or slippers, so naturally are harder on the carpet. This makes those areas doubly challenging to clean.
Not that I’m not up to the challenge! I employ some extra-strong. but still natural and non-toxic, products to clean those extra-difficult dark and worn areas. I can usually get it looking much better, but getting to 100% clean is certainly harder to attain.
The easiest solution, of course, is to take your shoes off in the house! Get some comfortable slippers or warm socks. Politely ask guests to remove shoes, either vocally or with a humorous sign, and provide an easy bench or chair for them to sit to remove their shoes, and a handy place to store them. It’s also nice to have some simple slippers or booties on hand for guests to slip on over their socks and be more comfortable.
Carpet is a major investment, both financially and in its role as a potential dirt, allergen and grease trap. Protect your investment by simply taking shoes off, and you’ll have a much cleaner, healthier home environment. And carpets that last longer, and are much easier to clean by guys like me!