How to Stop Your Carpets from Fading

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Like all fabrics, carpets are not immune from losing colour over time. This can be expected up to a point, but there are many things that a homeowner can do to slow the process and minimise the appearance that fading will have on their flooring. While sunlight is one of the main reasons why carpets can fade, harsh lighting and chemical reactions can also cause colour concern for carpet.

If you are worried about your carpets fading, here's what you can do:

1. Reduce Sunlight Exposure

Investing in window blinds and shutters can stop sunlight bleaching your carpet and it will also work wonders for furniture too—including your sofa. This doesn't mean you need to draw the shades around the clock, but paying attention to the time of the day when sun floods into the room and closing curtains or blinds will prolong the life (and appearance) of your carpet and prevent fading in the future.

2. Keep Feet and Hands Clean

Different chemicals we handle including hand creams, athletes foot cream, and tea tree oils can rub off on our carpets causing colour bleaching. Perhaps surprisingly, the oils and sweat from our feet and hands from medications that are being taken can cause discolouration, so to prevent this wash hands and feet regularly and wear socks on carpet as an added precaution.

To reduce the chance of a build up of deposits on the carpets that can cause cleaning, make sure to have clean your carpets each year. Be wary of DIY options as the wrong chemical used can exacerbate the colour bleaching. 

3. Attend to spillages pronto

The sooner you attend to a spillage on your carpet especially acidic fluids like juice and pet urine, the sooner these can be dissolved before they are absorbed and cause discolouration. This rule also applies to stains. The sooner you get some warm water and a mild detergent onto the stain the better.

4. Invest in a Colourfast Carpet

Choosing a robust carpet from the outset, especially for rooms with high traffic and lots of light can be a smart decision. Some carpets have built in colourfast features which provide extra protection from colour bleaching. While these might not necessary for the entire home, they can be a worthy addition to lounge rooms and high traffic areas. Faded carpet is a not a good look. Especially often fading is uneven with noticeable differences in the shading of the carpet. 

Finally, if your carpet has already become faded, professional carpet cleaning can make a major difference in brightening tired and dull looking carpets. Sure it may not be the full rich colour it used to be, but steam cleaning can restore the faded and dirty carpets, making it the first thing to try before you consider replacing your faded flooring. 

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19 May 2015

Hiring Cleaners and Creating Cleaning Schedules

Keeping a home or office clean is a special challenge, but as a mum, a business owner and a secret 'clean freak', I have learned effective strategies over the years. Hi, my name is Holly, and I want to welcome you to my blog. If you want tips on anything related to cleaning, you have come to the right place. In this blog, I will provide readers with tips on choosing and hiring cleaners, ideas on cleaning services and advice on creating cleaning schedules. With this info, you will be able to create an amazing cleaning regime. Enjoy and thanks for reading!