Not if you want a reason to get new carpet!  Almost all carpet comes new from the factory with a protectant already heat set in their process.  This protectant does a great job of prolonging the life of your carpet by blocking stains and preventing buildup of grit and debris that would otherwise wear the fibers too quickly and create damage.  The damage most commonly associated with worn carpet is the permanent haze or grey that builds up in the high traffic areas. This discoloring results when the tip of each fiber puffs up as the grit breaks down the fiber's structure.
Unfortunately this is permanent damage that can't be 'cleaned' out of your carpet. 

If you took sandpaper and went at your windows to get your kids' sticky finger prints off the glass the scratches and damage left behind could not then be cleaned away by Windex and a soft rag.  In much the same way once the grit in your carpet is allowed to shred the carpet fibers there's no going back.  Your carpet can be cleaned repeatedly but the high traffic areas will always look worn out.

So one of the main benefits of keeping protectant on your carpet is preventing this high traffic damage.  As the protectant coats each carpet fiber in its' own protective layer there is another added benefit to having protectant.  As anyone with children can attest, there will be spills! And most likely a lot of spills.  Of course it isn't always the kids who spill coffee, tea, wine or other adult beverages that find their way into the carpet at the New Year's Eve party.  As the protect fills in the small spaces in each fiber, call the 'dye lot', it will block you spills' color and contamination from bonding with the fibers and leaving permanent reminders or how great that party was or just how much little Suzie enjoyed her first birthday cake with all that pink frosting that she got to eat all by herself in the dining room.

So, keep it cleaned regularly and budget for the protectant, and you'll keep that carpet looking great twice as long.  After all, what's more expensive?  $300-$400 to clean and protect your carpet once a year? Or re-carpeting every 5-7 years because it's worn and stained prematurely?

We look forward to working for you for years to come.

And more importantly.... "Can they be removed?"

Filtration Lines.  Did you know that the biggest filter in your home is your carpet?  All the dust, dead skin, pollen, etc... that enters your home will eventually settle, if not to your counters and furniture, into your carpet.  Worse yet, before it settles it may get pulled into your HVAC system which will break it up into smaller dust particles.  In situations where your filter is insufficient or not changed frequently enough this debris will pass out into the house again. 

As air is forced into the different areas and settles to the floor the air looks for any crack or crevice through which it can pass. In most homes the walls are not sealed to the floor and as air is pushed through the carpet to this lowest point it is filtered and leaves behind super fine particles that bond with your carpet fibers. This can also happen in homes with radiant floor heat or other non HVAC systems. Every time the doors or windows open or close the pressure changes and the same filtration will occur anywhere the air is passing through the edges of your carpet.

At this point you have good and bad news.  The good news is that we can clean those dark lines out of your carpet.  The bad news; this is not a standard service covered by the general pricing. The removal of the filtration lines requires special tools, products and set up.  The pricing is generally $2.00-$4.00/ ft depending on quantity and width from wall board.

All this can be avoided with regular filter maintenance, changes and duct cleaning. Look for our next post on how maintaining your filters and ducting will help prolong the life of your carpet.