FAQs

FAQs

Care Guide for Homes with Carpet Flooring

Thank you for purchasing your new carpet from Suffolk Carpet Weavers.

Your carpet has been produced in accordance with the fine manufacturing traditions of our various reputable manufacturers.

We strive to make sure all the carpets we supply and fit are made to the finest quality, to look and feel fantastic under-foot and to create the perfect finishing touch to any home. We hope your new carpet gives you satisfaction for years to come.

Caring for your carpet
Your carpet should complete the perfect look in your home. It will add style, comfort and warmth.

Naturally, you’ll want the look, feel and enjoyment to last. To help you do just that you’ll need to take good care of it, maintain it as well as you can and clean it properly.

Maintenance
The key to good maintenance is to avoid particles of loose dirt and dust working their way into the carpet pile where they can act abrasively on the fibres and discolour the carpet.
  • Vacuum regularly at least 2-3 times a week.
  • A large, strong doormat will reduce dirt from outside being spread around the house.
  • Removing your shoes at the front door will lessen the impact of everyday wear and tear.
  • Avoid where possible, laying light coloured carpets next to external entrances.
Vacuum Cleaning
Man-made fibre and wool carpets should be vacuumed regularly as soon as they are laid. 

Loop Pile Carpet
Loop pile carpets should be vacuumed with a cylinder cleaner using the suction head only. Avoid using beater heads and brushes – they will catch and lift the fibres, and eventually this will give your carpet a bobbled or felted appearance.

Cut Pile Carpet
Cut pile carpets should ideally be vacuumed with an upright vacuum cleaner with a beater bar and brush. You can also opt to use a cylinder vacuum cleaner with a similar attachment.

Soft Deep Pile Carpet
We recommend a vacuum cleaner with an adjustable height for soft deep cut pile carpets, to ensure proper airflow over the pile surface during cleaning.
       
Cleaning
In a busy house with a young family, pets or plenty of visitors, spills and stains can happen at any time. The good news is that carpets can be cleaned easily and simply by following the recommended guidelines below:
  • Tackle spillages and stains immediately, don’t leave them until later or allow them to dry.
  • Blot away all the liquid stain with dry kitchen towel or a clean white dry cloth.
  • Semi-solid substances should be removed with a plastic spatula.
  • Remember to be patient – don’t rub vigorously or over-soak the stain.
  • Always work from the outside of the stain inwards to minimise it spreading.
  • To clean off any remaining stains, blot with a clean, damp cloth soaked in warm water.
For easy-clean, polypropylene carpets, a solution of bleach and warm water can be used. Simply dilute one part bleach to six parts water. NOTE: Do not use this on wool carpets and take care not to over-soak the carpet. Repeat if required or contact a professional cleaner if more persistent stains remain.

Further Guidance 

Shedding
All carpets using a spun yarn will shed excess fibre when first installed. The duration of the shedding varies depending on how often you vacuum your carpet and the type of machine used. Shedding is a perfectly natural, and common occurrence and is not considered to be a manufacturing defect. The short fibres lost over time represent a very small fraction of the overall pile.

Flattening
All cut pile carpets of any fibre type will flatten over time, especially in high traffic areas of the home. This can give the appearance of a different shade but is in fact caused by the pile reflecting light differently. It’s a normal occurrence and not related to or detrimental to the performance of the carpet. Regularly cleaning and maintenance reduces this significantly.

Indentations
The feet of furniture will create indentations on a carpet or rug. To help reduce marking, regularly move the position of furniture and other heavy objects where possible. To help lift the pile back up, use a coin to gently ‘tease’ the pile upright.

Long Tufts
After having the carpet fitted, very occasionally you may find a stray tuft extending above the pile surface. Provided your carpet is a cut pile, carefully cut the tuft with sharp scissors to the level of the surrounding pile. This will not affect the look or the durability of the carpet.
      
Natural Fibres
As a natural fibre, pure new wool is washed and scoured before being spun into carpet yarn. Throughout the manufacturing process wool is always inspected with any natural minor imperfections removed. Even so, fitted wool carpets may, on rare occasions, contain slight traces of the sheep’s outdoor environment. If this is the case, we reserve the right to carry out small on-site rectifications. This won’t affect your statutory rights.

Pile Reversal
As with shading, this can occur when the pile, or “nap” of the carpet changes direction and reflects light at different angles, creating an effect which can become permanent. Sometimes this is referred to as “water-marking”. It may be more apparent on plain carpets, whereas patterned carpets can mask this effect. There has been a lot of research conducted in this area, without conclusive proof of the causes. For this reason it is not considered to be a manufacturing fault.

Fading
Carpets with high wool content can and do fade over time. This fading is caused by continuous exposure to strong ultra violet (UV) light, which lightens, or bleaches the wool. The speed and extent of fading can vary depending on the colour and the exposure of the carpet. You should always try to reduce the exposure of wool carpets to sunlight, by using curtains, blinds and by moving furniture around regularly.

Pilling
Pilling can sometimes occur on loop pile carpets. The expression is used to describe little balls of fibres which collect on the pile surface – it’s similar to ‘bobbling’ effect which can occur on a sweater. To avoid pilling, vacuum with a cylinder cleaner using the suction head only. Also try and restrict the use of rubber soled shoes and pets ‘claws’ as they can both act abrasively on the pile surface.

Treatments
If you intend to apply stain-guard treatment to your carpets, be cautious. Don’t over apply the solution as too much saturation can result in damage to the structure of the carpet.

Please Note: This advice is offered as a service to our customers. Suffolk Carpet Weavers cannot be held liable for any loss, damage or injury arising out of any action taken on the advice in this leaflet. For more information call 01394 610202.
      

Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Cleaning Tips

How do you clean LVT flooring?

1 Sweep your floor regularly (at least once a week) to remove loose dirt.
2 Prevent stains by wiping spills promptly.
3 Occasional mopping with a mop and soapy water is recommended when dirt builds up and sweeping alone is not sufficient.
4 Use a doormat outside every entrance to your home to prevent dirt, sand, grit and other substances such as oil, asphalt and driveway sealer from being tracked on your floor. Use non-staining mats on floors.
5 Close your curtains or blinds in extreme sunlight.
6 LVT floors have a low gloss. Use polish or shine finish products only if you wish to make the floor shiny. After several applications of polish, an occasional stripping and reapplication of polish may be necessary.

CAUTION : Floors can be slippery when wet. Use care when walking on a wet floor.

Carpet Cleaning Spot and Stain Removal Tips

•Soak up liquids with white kitchen roll, paper tissues, toilet roll, or absorbent cloth
•Scoop up or scrape off solids
•Try to identify unknown spots prior to treatment – if unsure, use solvent first
•Always work from the edge of the spot inwards
•BLOT, do NOT rub
•Apply small quantities at a time, applied to a cloth, NOT directly to the spot; work into the spot with a small brush or sponge
•Take care with applying solvents to bitumen-backed carpet tiles
•When using solvents always ensure there is plenty of fresh air ventilation
•Always thoroughly rinse afterwards if water-based spotters have been used
•Dry the spot, if possible, with a hair dryer

The spot removal charts contain the methods for dealing with accidental spillages and the order in which the treatments should be tried.

Easy Spots

Spots that come out relatively easily with the methods recommended or when the carpet is wet cleaned.

May require repeated attempts with stronger spot removers. Some stains you may find impossible to remove completely in which case the assistance of a professional carpet cleaner may be required.

When Should I Have My Flooring Fitted – Customer Checklist

checklist icon
  1. Is all the plumbing complete in the areas you want the flooring fitted or in areas where we need to get through? Has it all been signed off on by you and the builders/plumbers?
  2. Is all the electrical work complete in the areas you want the flooring fitted or in areas where we need to get through? Has it all been signed off on by you and the builder/electrician?
  3. Are the floors level and dry in all the areas we need to fit the flooring and have you and the builder signed off on it?
  4. Are the walls all plastered and dry in the rooms we need to fit the flooring?
  5. Is all the painting completed and has it been allowed a minimum of 48 hrs to dry and harden (if gloss paint)? 
  6. Have all the fixtures and fittings been finished and signed off on by you and the builder? EG: built—in wardrobes etc.
  7. Has any underfloor heating been completed and signed off on? It must be completely dry.
  8. If you are having wooden thresholds, have they been fitted and painted/varnished and left to dry for a minimum of 48 hrs?


If you have answered yes to all these questions, we are able to fit your flooring.

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