Have you ever come home to find that your faithful mate has rearranged the living room? You remember your first thought? For two years you have sat in the same chair facing the same direction, and now it sits on the opposite wall. Shocked and maybe a little irritated you stand in the doorway speechless. Faithful mate smiles, “What do you think?” You wisely keep your thoughts to yourself. After dinner you sit down to watch television. It feels a little weird like sleeping on the other side of the bed, but it also feels refreshing. The change feels good.

Your carpet feels the same way. It too likes a little change. For those two years your carpet endured your feet walking the same path from the kitchen to the chair over and over several times a night. Wear patterns have started to show. The new arrangement changed the path. In my business of carpet cleaning in Portland I have seen several ways that rearranging the furniture can extend the life of your carpet.

The other day I read an article “how to take care of your carpets” that gives homeowners several suggestions designed to keep your carpet looking new.  It dawned on me that rearranging the furniture could actually incorporate many of the steps into one. Simply changing your furniture can:

  • Reroute traffic patterns. As mentioned above changing the arrangement changes the traffic patterns. Rearrange your furniture in a way that works for your family first and foremost.  However, think about your carpet too.  How would putting the television here change the traffic in our living area?  If I put our bed on this wall and the dresser on this wall, how would that change the traffic in our bedroom? You can add years to the life of your carpet and keep your life interesting with a simple rearrangement.
  • Remove pressure from areas under heavy furniture. Heavy furniture leaves indentations on your carpet. The longer a piece of furniture sits in one area the deeper the indentation. Years of pressure can leave your carpet permanently indented. Rearranging allows the carpet to recover. If you don’t have coasters for table legs, get some as part of your new rearranged look.
  • Change air flow. Homes have both a traffic and air flow. Air tends to circulate around your home in particular patterns. That air carries dirt, pollen, and smoke with it.  Often the air deposits the dirt in the same place day after day on your floor. In the business we call it filtration dirt. Filtration dirt get sucked into carpet and over time hardens in the fiber. Changing the placement of your furniture can change the flow of air.
  • Expose different areas of the carpet to sunlight. Sometimes changing the furniture can shelter areas exposed to sunlight streaming through a window. Newer windows have coatings to help with ultraviolet damage to carpet and furniture. If you have older windows, you need to use curtains, throw rugs, and rearranging furniture to limit the damage.

Rearranging the furniture will give you and your carpet a new lease on life. If you plan on rearranging in the near future, consider a carpet cleaning at the same time. It can help with furniture indentations, filtration dirt, and traffic wear. I might even give you a few ideas about your new look.

Hope this information is helpful…Thank you…Sean!