There are general recommendations for carpet cleaning, but it all depends on traffic and soil. In addition, pets add to the overall soil of the carpets with dander, oil, hair, shedding, slobber, and tracking in and out from outdoors. A rule of thumb for how pets add to the soil of carpets is the following:
A small dog less than 40 pounds is the human equivalent of plus 1 human.
A medium-sized dog from 40 pounds to 80 pounds is the human equivalent of plus 3 humans
A large dog from 80 pounds to 130 pounds is the human equivalent of plus 5 humans
A very large dog 130 pounds plus is the human equivalent of plus 7 humans
This takes into account dander, oil, hair, shedding (skin and hair),trafficin and out of the house, accidents etc...
So if you are a family with 2 parents and a child and you have a medium dog, you have basically 5 people living in your home.
So all of this means that with pets, the home gets dirtier faster and there is a lot more to clean up. So if you have pets or a few indoor animals, you will want to clean more frequently.
The following chart is only a guide and it does not take into account pets or the added soils from them.
Traffic Soil Rating | Carpet Owner/Maintainer | Professional Carpet Cleaner/Restorer | ||
Vacuuming | Spot Cleaning | Heavy-use Area Cleaning | Restorative Cleaning | |
Light Soil | 1 time per week | Daily, or as soon as the spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 12-18 months | Every 2 years per manufacturer warranty |
Normal Soil (Families with children, elderly) | 1-2 times per week | Daily, or as soon as the spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 6-12 months | Annually |
Heavy Soil (Families with pets, smoking) | 2-4 times per week | Daily, or as soon as the spots are noticed | Traffic areas every 3-6 months | Semi-annually (2 times annually) |
Extreme Conditions (Large families, multiple pets) | Daily | Daily, or as soon as the spots are noticed | Traffic lanes every 2-3 months | Quarterly (4 times annually) |