When an entire living room begins to look tired, it can be difficult to identify which surface is actually responsible.

Is it the carpet?

The sofa?

The area rug?

The answer may be all three.

Soft surfaces tend to age visually together because they are exposed to the same household environment. Foot traffic affects the carpet and rugs, while sofas and chairs collect body oils, spills, dust, and everyday use.

Cleaning only one surface may improve the room, but it can also make the remaining surfaces look more noticeably worn by comparison.

A practical approach is to identify the visual focal point of the room.

If the sofa is the largest upholstered item and clearly looks dull, upholstery cleaning may create the biggest immediate improvement.

If the flooring dominates the room, carpet or area rug cleaning may have more visual impact.

In some rooms, cleaning multiple surfaces during the same visit provides the most noticeable overall change.

There is another advantage to considering the room as a whole: it can help homeowners maintain furnishings rather than replacing them prematurely.

A sofa with accumulated soil may still be in excellent structural condition. The same may be true of a quality area rug or carpet.

Professional cleaning allows homeowners to see what the existing materials actually look like once normal household soil has been removed.

Chem-Dry of Tampa provides carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, area rug cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, and pet urine removal throughout the Tampa area.

If your living room looks tired but you cannot identify exactly why, look at the entire room instead of one surface at a time.

Sometimes the transformation comes from cleaning the combination.

Learn more at www.chemdryoftampa.com.