Is Carpet Protection Worth It?

That’s a question only you can answer but there’s no denying that carpet protection can be extremely useful for keeping your expensive floor coverings looking as beautiful and fresh as they you had them installed in the home.

Many consumers will opt to have some form of protection added to their carpets because it safeguards the carpet from spills that could leave long-lasting stains. Some homes may benefit from carpet protection due to the heavy amount of foot traffic that goes in and out on a daily basis. Homes with young children and/or pets may also find significant advantages in having their carpets sealed from the potential for advanced wear and tear and a greater likelihood of accidental messes.

So in order to help better answer the question as to whether or not carpet protection is worth the additional cost, let’s go over what it is, how it works, and the many advantages it offers.

What is Carpet Protection and How does it Work?

Remember the last time you spilled red wine or cranberry juice on your carpet? You dabbed and blotted and applied all the cleaners and used those tricks you looked up on the Internet for eliminating the mess, but despite your best efforts, a very faint discoloration remained.

That’s because the liquid you spilled became fully absorbed by the fibers of your carpet and remained there for good. Some stains just won’t lift no matter how hard you try to erase the evidence with salt, club soda, warm water, white vinegar, or what have you. It’s the same for many other substances if they are left to sit or soak into the fibers for too long, no amount of work on your part is going to bring them back out.

But with carpet protection, you need not worry about your carpet getting damaged for life just because of a split-second mistake. We all know that the faster you act to pick up a spill, the less time it has to permanently discolor the carpet material. Unfortunately, that isn’t a luxury we all have since some messes are made without the benefit of the culprit telling us that something has occurred.

These examples are the best argument for carpet protection since it has been designed to repel dirt, substances, and liquids from getting into the fibers by creating a barrier that prevents absorption from taking place.

Those are just one of the many benefits of carpet protection as it can also reduce the effects of excessive wear and tear through increased foot traffic as well as acting as a shield from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Carpets that are exposed to direct sunlight through open windows will definitely begin to fade over time. A good carpet protector can stave off those impacts.

Carpet Warranty

If the carpet that you have purchased came with a warranty then you already know how important it is to maintain your floor coverings so as to remain in compliance with the various mandates that must be followed under penalty of voiding that warranty.

So how does a carpet protector affect your carpet’s warranty? That all depends on the manufacturer and the carpet. Some companies will instruct you to have carpet protection applied after a professional carpet cleaning has been performed while other companies will tell you that applying a protector will void the warranty.

First and foremost, read your warranty to see what it says about adding carpet protection and you may just have your answer right there. But a good rule of thumb for homeowners who are not bound to any specifics of a warranty is to have a protector applied to the carper after four years of being installed. That’s because many new carpets have carpet protection built into the fibers already and adding another one on top of the existing protector just won’t be effective.

As carpets get older their fibers can tend to feel the impact of repeated foot traffic and the wear and tear that comes with all of that. Over time, the carpet protection that has been manufactured into the material can get worn away and start to fade. That process takes time which is why a minimum of four years is the suggested time frame after a carpet installation.

From that point on, consumers may opt to have a carpet protector applied every one to two years, based on the amount of foot traffic a carpet is subjected to along with any sort of potential impacts in the home that might threaten to damage the fibers.

The Cost of Carpet Protection

If you are planning to get carpet protection added to your current carpet, you have a few options when it comes to the amount of money you might have to spend to do the job properly. Homeowners who hire a professional carpet cleaning Arlington will typically have the technician who applies the protector after the carpets have been fully cleaned.

The cost for this service can vary based on the size of the carpet in the room. The amount of square footage being covered will have a direct effect on what you will be charged for a professional application.

If you would rather do the work yourself, you can purchase a bottle of carpet protection and an application brush which can run you much less in terms of costs for the materials. Since you are the one doing the work, labor costs are non-existent. However, you need to know what you are doing in order to ensure that the carpet will be properly protected.

You could end up having to pay a professional to come in and fix any mistakes that you’ve made so always be sure you are confident in your abilities before you decide you want to save a few bucks by doing the work all on your own.

Now that you know the essentials as to how it can benefit the look and feel of your floor coverings, you should be able to easily answer the question of whether or not carpet protection is worth it. The answer may not be the same for every household.

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