Traffic Lanes vs Pile Crush
Do you know the difference between the two?
Let me explain so when your carpet cleaner arrives you know what to expect for cleaning results. Both generally occur on top of each other in high traffic areas such as entries from the outdoors to your entry indoors, kitchen to the living room, bathroom to a bedroom or hallway and stairs. The traffic lane is caused by transferring soil from one location to another over the course of time and is very visible to the naked eye as a strip of discoloration about a foot or so wide. The soil can be removed with the proper solutions that we use which are specifically designed to deal with this type od ground in dirt, however it is very important to vacuum these areas on a regular basis.
The reason for this is simpler than you think .... sand and grit is very sharp and will over time settle to the bottom of your carpet and cut away at the base of the fibers and thinning the carpet out.
The Pile crush on the other hand is caused by the constant walking over these same areas over the course of time and is also visible to the naked eye (even if you don't wear shoes in your home). The end result is the pile lays down in one direction over time thus showing only one side of the fibers. The traffic wears off the outer color layer (and each strand has several colors intertwined to create a uniform color!) and refracts the light differently than when it was new. There is no real way to prevent this and the length of time it takes to become visible depends on your traffic, the quality of the carpet and the amount of vacuuming you do. We recommend vacuuming daily!
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