Traffic Lanes 

Traffic areas are those places where people are constantly walking or working. On many occasions, even after cleaning, traffic areas still will not look clean. This is known as "traffic lane gray". Traffic Lane Gray is a condition where the traffic lanes in a home start to look darker than the rest of the carpet. This is different from regular soiling because the darkness is not caused by dirt but by scratched carpet fibers that no longer reflect as much light as the rest of the carpeting. 

How Offten 

Carpet maufacturers recommend that residential homes with carpeting to be cleaned every 12-18 months.  This helps minimizes traffic lane issues, also household allergens are greatly reduced by steam cleaning.  Hot water extraction, better known as "Steam Cleaning"  is the only method recommended for carpet cleaning for residential homes by the IICRC and many carpet manufacturers. 

Spot Cleaning 

 Spot cleaning yourself can be a problem.  There is more chemistry involved in carpet cleaning then you would exspect.  You have to know what type of spot you are trying to clean up.  The type of spill, food, or stain has alot to do with what you will need to use to clean it with.  Carpet spotting chemicals can come in a lot of different ph's, they can be acidic or alkaline depending on what was spilt, and how long it has been there too.  Sometimes it's better to let a certified technician do the work, for that one reason.  All About Carpet & Floors recommend a neutral ph spotter to be used by their customers.  We have a neutral spotter at our store front for sale.  It is actually one of the spotters that our technicians use and trust.  If your worried about having that eye sore of stain there permanently trust us. Use what we use to get it out and avoid the headache.