How to Keep Your Carpet Warranty Valid
Getting a brand new carpet properly installed in your home or office can provide lasting design and comfort for many years to come. In order to keep your carpet clean and know how to keep your carpet warranty valid for the long haul, you need to ensure that it’s properly maintained and sufficiently protected.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that their carpet warranty is not as straightforward as the guarantees in some other industries. With a carpet, you need to do a little legwork yourself to make sure that your warranty stays valid over the life of your carpet.
TYPES OF CARPET WARRANTY
Carpet warranties are not made equally. There are a few primary clauses built in to different ones, usually including wear, stain, and texture. We’ll go over each one so that you have a good idea of what it entails and how it pertains to you and your carpet.
Wear Warranty — The wear portion of a carpet warranty refers to “wear and tear” — foot traffic being a primary culprit. The definition of this wear may vary by carpet manufacturer, but generally it includes a 10 year warranty relating to a greater than 10% loss in pile fiber.
Keep in mind that carpet manufacturers are likely only required by the warranty to refurnish specific areas of the carpet that have experienced the excessive wear. The rest of the carpet will probably remain the same.
Stain Warranty — This is more or less what it sounds like, but, again, some exclusions usually apply to the stain portion of the warranty as well. In the case of stains, the manufacturer is probably only required to replace or clean a stained carpet when certain conditions are met.
In other words, there are simply certain substances that are written into the stain clause for which the carpet maker will not be held liable. It would not be a bad idea to know that list by heart!
Texture Warranty — Similar to both wear and stain stipulations, this section of the warranty often has its own list of stipulations (though not all carpet warranties actually come with a texture retention guarantee). Most importantly, the texture portion of a carpet warranty typically only remains in effect if the carpet is still is decent condition.
If your carpet fibers are rather frayed, then there’s a good chance you won’t have a valid warranty claim. Likewise, the texture is frequently measured by a percentage of total carpet height loss.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR CARPET WARRANTY VALID
Now that you understand the different clauses written into carpet warranties, we’ll take a look at how you can keep your carpet in great condition and maintain the validity of your warranty at the same time.
In general, there are four things you want to do in order to sustain the life of your carpet and its warranty: proof of receipt and sample; vacuuming; regular cleaning by a professional; and only using approved stain removal products. Let’s dive into each one in a bit more detail.
1. Proof of Receipt and Sample — Make sure that you have the original proof of your carpet purchase on-hand in case of a carpet emergency. To make a legitimate warranty claim, you’ll need to have the receipt, warranty information, and, in some cases, you’ll even want to have a 2×3 carpet sample from the day you had the carpet installed..
2. Vacuuming — Another factor that can extend both the life of the carpet and maintain your warranty’s validity is simple: vacuuming. Regular vacuuming keeps the carpet clean and ensures that it is properly maintained at all times.
3. Professional Cleaning — Most carpet warranties require that it be cleaned by a professional carpet cleaning outfit using hot water extraction. The frequency varies, but it’s usually in the range of once every 12-24 months (make sure you hold onto those receipts, too!).
4. Stain Remover — You’re probably going to experience stains on your carpet from time to time (can I get an amen for Scotchgard?), especially if there are pets or children in the house. In order to ensure that your warranty stays intact, you can only clean up those spills with approved cleaning supplies certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute. If it doesn’t have their seal of approval, don’t use it!
With this information, you’re now prepared to understand your carpet as well as know how to keep your carpet warranty valid over its entire life. It’s not too terribly difficult to do, but it does require a bit of knowledge and prep work to stay the course.
If you ever decide that you need help with carpet care, you can always reach out to Carolina Kwik Dry. We have the expertise and experience to keep your carpets clean and warranty-approved season after season, year after year.