A carpet in the home is an added benefit, in most places. Going from the cold, tile floor onto a carpet helps your feet to feel warm, but also helps to keep you comfortable. Yet, many people are pulling away from carpet and are instead focusing on the use of tile, laminates or hardwoods. If you are keeping your carpeting, consider a few of these tips to maintaining the carpeting you have.

1. Keep it clean. Vacuuming using a powerful vacuum should occur frequently. The frequency is quite dependent on the amount of traffic. One thing of note is do not just vacuum when the carpet looks dirty, as you cannot see most of the debris within.

2. Do invest in a hypoallergenic filter for your vacuum cleaner. This will provide you with the highest level of protection. No one wants dust everywhere.

3. Washing the carpet should happen professionally whenever possible. You can use at home carpet cleaners, but note that these do not provide the same level of deep cleaning as a professional service offers. In addition, you may not find the carpeting to be as soft and clean looking with carpet cleaning machines as you would with a professional service.

4. Any rips, tears or any pulling away from the edging needs replacing right away or repaired. For example, if you notice that the carpet edging is pulling away from under your floor molding, this may mean that the carpet will peal way, which may be dangerous.

5. Do note that carpet does not last forever. Plan to replace it every five to ten years.

For those who still have carpet, to keep your home looking great, keep up with that carpet!