Have you looked down at the dirty traffic lanes and wondered what caused them?
Okay, it may seem obvious that soil is causing the traffic lanes to look dirty, but is it?
When soil is left in the traffic lanes they begin to sand the fibers and dull the fibers. Cleaning will remove the soil, but nothing fixes fibers that have been scratched from abrasion.
To understand the damage abrasion causes to carpet imagine this simple example. Imagine holding a clear acrylic tube. Half of the tube is clear, like new, and the other half is scratched. The difference between the two ends of the tube is that one end is shiny and the other end is dull. Also, there is the same amount of plastic on each end of the tube. This is important point that we’ll get to in a minute.
Now, when carpet gets scratched from abrasion it becomes dull. The dull areas of the carpet reflects light differently than the new or lightly traveled areas. So after removing the soil from the carpet it will still look a little darker than the other areas of the carpet that have not suffered from abrasion.
Abrasion can be mild to severe and is not actually wear. Remember where I stated that the same amount of plastic is on each end of the tube? Well the fiber that has been scratched has the same amount of fiber when it was new. The only difference now is that the fiber has been scratched, but there still is about the same amount of fiber when it was new. Therefore this situation is not wear. Now you know the difference between wear and abrasion.
See the reason why is is a good idea to have your carpets cleaned at least every 12-months? If you need help with your carpets, please give your local Professional a call Superior Steam Cleaners 443-277-7265.