How long should a new carpet stay clean?

[Gabitule]

I bought the carpet in the link below last year in October. The colour is ‘old lace’, so admittedly a light colour, but there are only 2 of us in the house (no kids and no pets) and we don’t wear shoes indoors.

By June this year, so 8 months after installation, the carpet looked dirty in the areas with higher traffic (stairs, landing). I attach a photo taken in July. I tried cleaning it with a Rug Doctor (the small one for spot cleaning) but it doesn’t seem to have made a difference.

I am wondering whether it’s normal for a carpet to get dirty so quickly. I lived in this house for 3 years wirh the old carpet and I never cleaned it (as I knew I was going to change it) and it never looked dirty. It was indeed a darker colour. My friend had lighter carpets and hers don’t show dirt in this way either.

If you have a light coloured carpet, could you please tell me how quickly it gets dirty?

The carpet was advertised as having stain protection but I doubt it has any. I just wonder if I should complain to the shop.

https://www.tapi.co.uk/carpet/jagger?compare=1&gclsrc=aw.ds&gadsource=1&gadcampaignid=1417615911&gbraid=0AAAAADc-cCGrxcekgeKNqnV0wvnySPy0H&gclid=CjwKCAjwobnGBhBNEiwAu2mpFOvQbiVr7mRue9vEpLCc-0hXBMgV9QvhUA7JNz-X9rAQZGq6L3QrxhoCEaoQAvDBwE

Oh, that's poor. Does your husband wear black socks and shuffle?

I had that colour on the stairs for ten years and it wasn’t black like that

Mine also doesn’t get dirty. We’ve had it for 3.5 years and it’s just starting to get a bit darker near the front door area.

Where is the dirt coming from if you don't wear shoes inside?

Good question. I assume that it’s dirt that’s produced in the normal course of living: dust that enters the house through the windows, drops of water that splashes from the sink and is then being stepped on and carried upstairs… I hoover downstairs most days (hard floors) every day but I don’t wash the floors every day.

he probably does, but other areas in the house are dirty too. I just can’t tell if the issue is the carpet or us

May be you need to try the steam cleaner type carpet clean?

I don't think complaining to the shop 8 months on would get you very far. ie I can't imagine them offering you a refund.

It’s perhaps dye transfer. You can test how dirty your hard floors are by wearing white
socks for a day.

Thanks everyone. I think I’ll get them professionally cleaned and look into buying some sort of anti-dirt protector/ spray.
I still think they got dirty way too quickly. I wish I bought a twist pile carpet, maybe it would have lasted longer

How deep a pile does the carpet have? We regret buying a carpet with a deeper pile than our old one, and when it flattens it looks dirty.

We too have the Jaggar carpet, installed last December and within 4 months we too had dark marks and the carpet started to thread. It’s supposed to be for high traffic areas and heavy use, we are out all day and only really go upstairs to bed or take washing up. We complained and they said it was our fault for over use/not vacuuming enough/wrong vacuum. We were never given guidance on a vacuums only that it should be suction (aren’t they all??) and how can we have done more than 10 years of use in 4 months. They rejected our claim, but have since discontinued the range (guessing from so many issues) and we have to go through the ombudsman to try and get money back for the carpet we’ve taken up and replaced after 6 months.

A carpet can't get dirty without dirt, it could be that there are oils in the fibres that have absorbed the dirt from the air, or there is oily dirt getting into the house from somewhere, a busy road or industrial premises. It looks really grimey, odd that it won't wash off, look for a specialist carpet cleaning solution? I usually find the pile flattening in the most used areas is the most annoying thing about new carpets. What material is the carpet and did it say it was suitable for high traffic areas like stairs?

It's a looped carpet right? They are harder to clean dirt out of than tufted ones so that might be part of the issue. Once the dirt is wedged into the fibres, it can't work it's way out very easily even worh scrubbing etc.

If its looped pile, its a bitch to get dirt out of the fibres. Not wearing shoes inside doesn't really help because you still have dirt on your hard floors which you walk across in your socks/bare feet and track across the carpet. That patch at the top is classic because it's where you turn on the ball of your foot so you're essentially wiping your feet on it.

You could speak to the shop, see if they can recommend a cleaner, rug doctor is pretty universally shit and really not suitable for looped carpets if it has a beater brush. You could damage it, using that. You need to clean in the direction of the thread to lift dirt without fraying the thread. Try using a spot cleaner like Dr beckmans. Sometimes they're better.

I doubt they will entertain a complaint about it getting dirty though. It left the store in clean condition, keeping it that way is up to you. They aren't responsible for how dirty your floors get.

Interesting thread @GaryCooke good on you for persisting!

we have the same issue with this carpet and someone is due out to inspect it. How did you get on with your claim?

we have the same issue with this carpet and someone is due out to inspect it. How did you get on with your claim?@garycooke

We too have this issue with Jagger carpet old lace. It seems the easy clean fibres actually seem too retain everything, its impossible to clean and looks dreadful. We have complained and Tapi wont do anything so are trying Ombudsman next.

The carpet was mis-sold as easy to clean, stain resistant and good appearance over time. If anyone has any photos of their original marketing of this product we'd really appreciate a copy!