10 Crazy Myths about Carpet Cleaning that Everyone Thinks are True

It's back-to-school time once again in the Outer Banks, but students are not the only ones who can learn something new this season. Check out these common myths about carpet cleaning and let us know which one is most surprising!

Carpet will be damp for days after being professionally cleaned

While some carpet cleaning methods will leave your carpet wet for long periods of time, Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry uses almost 80% less water than traditional steam cleaners, and your carpet should be dry in just a few hours after a cleaning

I don’t have time for carpet cleaning

We get it- you have a busy life, and you don’t have days to wait around for your carpet to dry before you start using them. That’s why we do everything we can to make carpet cleaning by Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry a convenient experience for you. Not only will your carpet be dry in just a few hours, but our friendly technicians will even vacuum the carpet beforehand with our HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaner as a standard part of our service, so all you have to do is clear larger objects from the room and let us take care of the rest!

My carpets were just installed, so I won’t need to think about having them cleaned for a few years

There is nothing better than the feeling of fresh carpeting, and we all wish that new-home feeling could last forever. In all reality, dirt starts moving into your new home as soon as you do, and it’s important to stay on top of cleaning it back out again. In fact, most carpet manufacturers require that a professional carpet cleaning is completed every 12-18 months in order to maintain the warranty. Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry is endorsed by several of the industry’s largest carpet manufacturers, so you can stay on top of your carpet and your warranty.

Protectant is just a way for carpet cleaning companies to make more money off of me

Actually, protectant is an important part of maintaining your carpet’s health. Most carpeting comes with a factory-applied protectant when it is first installed, which is why new carpet stays nice for so long. After a while, though, that protectant wears off and needs to be reapplied in order to resist stains and soiling. Rather than being just a costly “extra” service, protectant is actually an investment in prolonging the life of your carpet.

If I can’t see something in my carpet, the stain isn’t there

While it may be possible to remove a stain from the surface fibers of a carpet, so that you cannot physically see it, the stain still exists in the deep fibers and pad beneath your carpet’s surface. Professional cleaning by Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry reaches deep and can remove the stain at its heart, rather than allowing it to lurk, unseen, beneath your feet.

Carpet cleaning makes my carpet get dirty faster

This is one of the most popular carpet cleaning myths, because it contains a partial truth. If you have your carpets cleaned improperly, using soaps that leave dirt-attracting residue, your carpets can get dirty faster. That’s why it is so important to call the right carpet cleaner. Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry’s process uses no soaps or harsh chemicals, and will not attract dirt and grime. In fact, applying a protectant after a carpet cleaning by Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry can actually do the opposite- (remember what we said about protectant earlier?)

Having carpet in the home will aggravate my allergies

This is another tricky one, because it comes from a misunderstanding about carpet’s function in the home. Carpet does trap dust and allergens, but this is actually beneficial, because it acts like an air filter and prevents those particles from being recirculated in the air throughout the house. The problem comes when the carpet is so clogged with dirt and grime that it cannot hold any more. When carpet is this saturated, those in-home pollutants get kicked back up into the air, and you start sneezing and coughing. Regular carpet cleaning can prevent carpets from reaching this saturation point, so you and your loved ones stay healthy.

If carpets don’t look dirty, they don’t need to be cleaned

If you wait until your carpets are visibly dirty before you have them cleaned, you are waiting too long. While you have been holding off on calling a cleaner, dust, dirt, and allergens have been gathering deep in the fibers of your carpet, making themselves more and more at home and potentially even doing serious damage. Professional cleaning should happen well before carpets appear dirty to get the best results. 

All vacuums are created equal

Sure, they might have different bells and whistles, but as long as it has enough suction to do the job, any vacuum will do, right? Wrong. The wrong type of vacuum can actually spit dust particles back into the air, right after removing them from your carpet. This means that dust is just recirculating in your house, rather than being removed. Finding the right kind of vacuum for your carpet is crucial in keeping them as clean as possible. 

Green carpet cleaning products are not as effective as strong chemicals

Kill Devil Hills Chem-Dry’s natural method can be deceiving; because it is so safe and gentle on carpets, it might be easy to assume that it is not as effective as a tougher method. The secret is in the power of carbonation. Tiny carbonation bubbles go deep in your carpet, loosen the dirt and grime, and lift it to the carpet’s surface. That means the dirt can be whisked away, without our powerhead damaging the carpet fibers themselves. All of this means that our green-certified solution and HCE method are both safe and effective in cleaning your home.