A high traffic area on a carpet is an area that sees much more use than the rest of the carpet. Think about areas that you utilize in your home. The pathways leading to those areas are very likely going to be the high traffic areas of your carpet. This could include entryways, stairs, hallways, and areas around furniture that is used often. Anywhere on the floor that sees a lot of foot traffic is going to be a high traffic area. Generally, in residential homes especially, you can walk around the house and follow the traffic patterns on the floor as if they were designed to be there.

How Do High Traffic Areas Affect My Carpet?

There are a number of problems that are often associated with high traffic areas. The first of these problems is the carpet pile. Often, the areas that are the most used on the floor will have had their fibers crushed and will not sit as high as most of the rest of the floor. If you find yourself walking through your home and you come across areas that look flat, dull, or worn, then you have very likely found one of the high traffic areas of your home.

The second problem with high traffic areas, and the more important of the two, is that these areas see a bad combination of two things: extra wear due to increased foot traffic and extra soil. The more soil is in a carpet, the more quickly the fibers will wear down from particles grinding them underfoot. In high traffic areas, the increased foot traffic acts as a force multiplier and will do two things: soil the carpet deeper and more quickly and grind the soil and particulate matter harder into the carpet fibers. The other side effect is that the dirtier an area of carpet is and the flatter the fibers in that area, the more easily that dirt can be transported underfoot to other areas of the carpet and, thus, soil even more of the carpet than otherwise would be.

How Can I Help Maintain My Carpet Health?

There are a few ways that you (or, more likely, a professional) can help maintain the health and durability of your carpet:

• Regular cleaning of high traffic areas – Generally, it is recommended that the entire carpet be cleaned once every year and that the high traffic areas be cleaned every six months (or more often, depending on exactly how much traffic the area sees.
• Steaming flattened pile – There are two ways of doing this: Either brush the pile after a regular steam cleaning using a thick bristled brush in the opposite direction the pile is laying to raise it or lay a damp wash cloth on the affected area and heat the cloth with an iron and use the brush. If you opt for the iron method, be extremely careful that you do not accidentally melt the fibers. They are heat resistant in most cases, but it is better to be safe than sorry
• Raking flattened pile – Some carpet professionals will be able to rake the carpet with a specialized tool in order to restore carpet pile that has been flattened. Ask about this service if you have a professional in your home. Any company worth their salt will either do this as a part of their service or will offer it for no additional charge upon request.
• Utilize mats – This one is obvious. Use a mat and wipe your feet prior to entering the home. This will help prevent the carpet from soiling to begin with.
• Remove shoes – Removal of shoes is sometimes seen as a sign of respect or a cultural thing, but it can help reduce carpet wear and will greatly reduce the amount of soil being tracked throughout the house.

There are a number of issues that can arise in areas of the carpet that see more foot traffic than others. These areas are more likely to wear and, if not kept clean, can increase the risk of tracking dirt and particulates onto the cleaner areas of the carpet. Keeping your high traffic areas clean and durable will lead to keeping your entire carpet looking healthy and extending its life.