When your office flooring is carpeted, it presents a professional and welcoming atmosphere. However, the problem is that this flooring is prone to accumulating dust, dirt, and bacteria with time. You need to perform regular cleaning to maintain a hygienic workspace environment. You must ask yourself the question, how often should the office carpet be cleaned? The answer to that is not complicated; it depends on a variety of factors like foot traffic, the location of the office, and the type of business.
Today, Royal Carpets offers a full-fledged guide on how often should office carpets be cleaned.
Why Regular Workspace Carpet Cleaning Is Essential
Office floor carpets suffer from constant foot traffic throughout the working day. Neglecting the right care and cleaning it can cause some serious problems. These are the reasons why regular carpet cleaning is important.
1. Improves Indoor Air Quality
Fibers of carpets trap those airborne pollutants, dust mites, allergens, and bacteria within. When you don’t do regular cleaning, these contaminants just release back into the air, which leads to breathing issues and allergies for your employees.
2. Better Office Aesthetics
The first impression of the business is the first impression of the man owning it. A clean and well-maintained carpet flooring presents a professional look for the workspace, and it improves your office’s overall interior décor.
3. Increases Carpet Life
Dust and dirt gathering within carpet fibers will wear them down. Eventually, this causes premature damage. When you do regular cleaning, this wear & tear reduces, thus increasing the carpet’s lifespan.
4. Reduces Health Risks
Bacteria and mold love to thrive in damp, dirty spaces, and dirty carpets are the perfect breeding ground for them. If the carpets are not cleaned properly, mold and bacteria cause illness and other health issues among your employees.
5. Take Care Of Nasty Odors
Carpets see many food stains, drink spills, and heavy foot traffic. Routine cleaning will not only keep them clean but eliminate the smelly odors from all the dirt and stains.
Factors That Determine How Often Office Carpets Should Be Cleaned
A variety of factors determine how often an office carpet should be cleaned.
1. Foot Traffic Levels
- If it’s a high-traffic area carpet like in the reception area, hallways or the conference room, it should be cleaned once a week.
- If it’s a medium-traffic area like the general office space, a deep cleaning every 3 to 6 months is necessary.
- If it’s a low-traffic area like the meeting room or a private office, do deep cleaning every 6 to 13 months.
2. Type of Business
- In business places like hospitals and healthcare institutes, carpets need daily vacuuming and a monthly deep cleaning.
- If it’s a retail store floor carpeting, you must clean them for 1 to 3 months.
- For your corporate office floor coverings, get a deep cleaning service every 6 months.
3. Seasonal Considerations
Seasons influence when the carpet needs frequent cleaning or not. For instance, during the rainy weather or the winters, carpets seem to gather more dirt and moisture.
4. Presence of Pets
Some offices allow their workers to have service pets, but cleaning after these pets is necessary. This is true, especially if the office flooring is carpet. Pet hairs, dander, and their odors embed within the carpets. A monthly deep cleaning is necessary for better cleaning.
5. Type of Carpet Material
Some of the carpet materials seem to trap more dirt than others. For instance, a plush carpet will need a deep cleaning whereas a nylon carpet will get a simple cleaning.
Recommended Carpet Cleaning Schedule
You can follow this carpet cleaning schedule for optimal carpet maintenance.
| Cleaning Method | Frequency |
| Daily Vacuuming | High-traffic areas |
| Spot Cleaning | Immediately after spills |
| Deep Cleaning (Steam Cleaning) | Every 3-6 months |
| Professional Carpet Cleaning | Every 6-12 months |
Different Carpet Cleaning Methods
There are a variety of ways to do carpet cleaning. Some of the basic yet effective ones are as follows.
1. Vacuuming
You should vacuum the carpet surface daily to suck away any dirt or dust build-ups. We recommend using a HEPA filter for your vacuums to trap allergens better after vacuuming them off.
2. Spot Cleaning
In case of liquid spills of any kind, we recommend first doing a spot cleaning. For this, our recommendation is to use a carpet-safe cleaner to reduce the chance of permanent stains.
3. Steam Cleaning (Hot Water Extraction)
Nothing works better for carpet maintenance than a professional steam cleaning. Steam removes that deep-seated dirt and kills all the bacteria within the carpet fibers.
4. Dry Carpet Cleaning
This method is also a professional one that involves the use of a chemical compound that can absorb dirt without the need for water. It’s ideal for those workspaces that cannot afford too long drying times.
5. Shampooing
Shampooing is another great way to clean those plush pile working place carpets. A foaming detergent will be used to scrub the carpet and then extracted with blotting technique. This one is recommended for carpets in offices that see lots of foot traffic.
Tips to Keep Office Carpets Clean for Longer
You can keep your office carpets clean for longer if you follow these helpful tips.
- Use the entry mats by placing them at entrances to limit the inflow of dirt from outside.
- Enforce in your workspace a no-shoe policy for certain carpeted areas of it.
- You must maintain a proper and regular carpet cleaning schedule and hire only experts to do carpet cleaning.
- In case of a liquid spill, take prompt action to clean before the stain sets in.
- You must rotate your furniture periodically to limit the wear on the carpet and expose the carpet surface for better cleaning.
Final Thoughts
The answer to the question of how often should the office carpet be cleaned depends on lots of factors; you must know how much foot traffic your workspace sees in a day, what kind of work industry you have your office in, and what are the seasonal factors around you.
A well-maintained office floor carpet is a reflection of your aesthetic sense of style. If you wish to get better results for your carpet cleaning, we recommend getting help from a professional carpet cleaning service. These service providers have experience with every kind of carpet material and know what is best for your workplace carpet needs.
