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Back in prehistoric days, humans took shelter in primitive caves. It probably didn’t take them too long to start using animal skins, plant leaves, or other soft material to line the floors of their caves. Were these types of materials the first carpets? Not exactly. We do know that animals, such as goats and sheep, were sheared for hair and wool that could be spun and woven into floor coverings over 9,000 years ago. Knotted-pile carpet rugs are thought to have developed in western Asia 4,000-5,000 years ago.

The oldest rug ever discovered is the Pazyryk carpet, which is a pile carpet rug discovered in a Siberian burial mound in 1949. Experts believe it is over 6,000 years old, dating back to the 5th century B.C. Preserved in ice for thousands of years, the Pazyryk carpet features rich colors in a dense pile of symmetrical double knots.

Wall-to-wall carpeting, like we enjoy today, hasn’t been around nearly as long as the more portable version. They got their start as handcrafted bedspreads in the small town of Dalton, Georgia.

Around the turn of the 20th century, a young woman in Dalton named Catherine Evans Whitener made a handcrafted bedspread as a wedding gift. Using a quilt pattern she had seen, she sewed thick cotton yarn onto unbleached muslin fabric. To make the bedspread softer, she clipped the ends of the yarn, so that they would fluff out.

Over the next several decades, her process for making bedspreads became extremely popular, and entire families began to make a living by hand-tufting bedspreads. Demand for these bedspreads was high and spread to large cities around the U.S. Income from making bedspreads helped many Dalton-area families survive the Great Depression.

This was the introduction of the broadloom, which allowed room-sized carpets to be created. Why just cover a bed when you could cover an entire home? American floors were lost for decades beneath thick wall-to-wall carpeting. After World War II, new synthetic fibers were developed to replace wool and cotton, including polyester, nylon, rayon, and acrylics.

So now that we know all about where carpeting comes from, keep in mind that this wonderful stuff needs regular professional carpet cleaning. Call us you’re ready to schedule.

We all love our pets, but do you know what they bring into your home?

Saliva: A dog has at Least 20 species of bacteria in its mouth. All of these bacteria are left behind when your pet slobbers on your upholstery, rugs and carpets.

Pet waste: There are 20 million fecal coliform bacteria in a single gram of pet waste – urine or feces! These bacteria remain on carpets and rugs even after you clean up the waste.

Dander: An estimated 30 million Americans are allergic to animals with pet dander being the main cause! Simply vacuuming may not get rid of all of the allergens.

Dirt: Studies show that dirt carries many different forms of bacteria and a square foot of carpet can harbor up to 1 pound of dirt! Our cleaning system will deep clean your carpets and rugs, removing the places bacteria can hide.

The EPA recommends that homes with pets have their rugs and carpets professionally cleaned every 3 to 6 months for the most effective cleaning and removal of pet hair, odors, dander, and dirt or soil.

Sometimes, what you hear about completing a particular task contains inaccurate information. In order to clean your carpeting as efficiently as possible it’s important to ignore common myths that could actually affect the quality of your carpet cleaning. Understanding these myths will allow you to do a better job keeping your carpet clean.

Myth: My carpets don’t look dirty, so I don’t need a professional cleaning.

Don’t wait until the carpet looks dirty. Consult your carpet manufacturer for a schedule to regularly vacuum and professionally clean your carpet. Do not wait until the carpeting looks obviously dirty before beginning any cleaning efforts. That can actually damage the carpet because the longer the dirt and dust remains in the carpet the more likely it is to literally cut away at the carpet fibers like sandpaper. Waiting to clean the carpeting also can affect the health of your family members and visitors to your home. Experts say a square foot of the average nylon wall-to-wall carpeting can hold more than a pound of dirt, dust, and allergens and this growing pile of dirt can be particularly difficult to see with tan and brown carpeting.

Myth: It’s ok to let your carpeting to get soaked during cleaning.

Don’t let your carpet get too wet. For the most part, carpets and excessive moisture do not get along. That’s why carpet manufacturers do not recommend carpet shampoo machines. These machines allow the carpeting to become soaked, and if not dried properly, that moisture can lead to molds and fungus that can potentially spread throughout the home. Instead, carpet manufacturers recommend a regular professional cleaning treatment – usually once a year – that involves a water-extraction machine. These machines are often confused for steam machines, but they limit the amount of water sent into the carpet and can then retrieve all of that water after a thorough, deep cleaning of the carpeting is finished.

Myth: I have a carpet protectant, I don’t need to worry about or address spills and stains.

Don’t rely on carpet protectants. A scotch guard or other protective coating put down on your carpeting as a purchase incentive is only meant to add a level of protection. Stains can still damage the carpeting with this protection present, although they won’t soak in as quickly, and should be addressed immediately. It’s still crucial to address stains as soon as they occur because the protective coating on the carpeting will generally only delay the absorption of the stains into the carpet. First use white paper towels to soak up as much of the stain as possible. Then, combine a mixture of white vinegar and water and lightly dab the area, once again using the paper towels to blot the moisture in the carpet.

You would be hard pressed not to find this noisy, electrical and often-underused mechanical device in any home, apartment or business.

What is it? The vacuum cleaner. You know, that silent sentinel in your closet that comes to life when you plug it in and push the power button, and it buzzes all over the carpet as you chase it around the house.

The problem with the vacuum cleaner is we trust it too much. No, we’re not saying you shouldn’t vacuum your carpet. You should vacuum once per week per occupant, on average, for the main areas. You might vacuum the bedrooms less frequently. We all know that proper vacuuming is important in caring for the carpet.

But some feel that vacuuming the carpet is equal to carpet cleaning. That’s a myth and it is simply not true. Professional carpet cleaning removes so much more than a vacuum can remove. Yet it has been reported that consumers feel that frequent vacuuming removes the dust and grime from their floors and they can either skip or prolong regular carpet cleaning.

That’s not the case.

A good vacuum, no matter how powerful or advanced, removes only dry soil. The stuff that is tracked in every day and should be removed every day, as well. Vacuums don’t remove the sticky, greasy soil stuck to the carpet fibers. You need professional cleaning to remove those soils.

Compare this to washing your car with a dry rag… or brushing your hair and skipping the shower and shampoo… or — well, you get the point. You need quality cleaning, deep carpet cleaning, to get your carpet thoroughly cleaned.

Do yourself a favor. Keep that vacuum cleaner working, use it all the time, but also use your professional carpet cleaning pro. We know what it takes to remove ALL the dirt!