Most big problems start as preventable small ones. Such is the case with filtration soiling.
If you’ve noticed the carpet in one or more rooms of your house is black or dirty around the edges, you’ve probably wondered what’s causing it and how to clean it up. This housekeeping headache is called filtration soiling, and it’s caused by poor air circulation. If air is being forced into a space faster than it’s being pulled out by the HVAC system, it’s forced to find a different way out of the room. Often, that alternate route is underneath closed doors and through the gap between your carpet and your trim.
As time goes on, your carpet serves as a filter for this air, trapping all the pollutants into its fibers. Over the years, serving as an air filter takes its toll on your carpets and you’re left with unsightly, dirty reminders of the pollutants in your home’s air.
How to Clean Filtration Soiling
If you’ve attempted to remove filtration soiling yourself, you’ve probably discovered it is not easy to clean up with ordinary housekeeping tools. This isn’t your everyday dirty carpet and a vacuum cleaner is little match for the mess. But you’re not out of luck. Sams Carpet Cleaning has a safe and reliable solution for removing most filtration soiling with the tools in our carpet cleaning arsenal.
Filtration soiling is so difficult to remove because many of the pollutants in your air are either water- or solvent-soluble. So cleaning agents that work on some of these pollutants won’t work on another. We often need to apply multiple treatments to remove the soiling caused by them.
Preventing Filtration Soiling
The first step to preventing filtration soiling is to address air quality. Having your air ducts professionally cleaned by the Sams team will eliminate potential pollutants your air might be picking up as it travels through your walls in the HVAC system. Filters can also go a long way toward improving air quality. Ensure that you change your furnace filter at least once every 90 days. If the air isn’t dirty, there will be fewer pollutants for the carpet edges to filter out.
Next, it’s time to think about pollutants you or your family may be adding to the air circulating through your home. Smoke from wood burning fireplaces, cigarettes or candles is a major culprit. Surprisingly regular use of cooking oils can also be a contributor. Ensuring surfaces are dust free and carpets are vacuumed regularly will also help remove potential pollutants from your home.
Finally, just keeping the interior doors in your house open can make a big difference. The more freedom air has to move, the less likely it will be to look for alternate pathways. Open doors will allow air to pass from room to room and should go a long way to preventing filtration soil.
It’s important to know that filtration soiling is not a sign of a dirty home. This common occurrence can happen in even the tidiest of homes and replacing the carpet is not the only solution. If you’ve spent years trying to remove filtration soiling yourself or you’ve resorted to moving furniture around to cover it up, give us a call. The Sams team is your secret weapon in the battle with filtration soiling.
