Draught Marks: What They Are And Why

Have you ever heard of draught markings on carpeting? These markings appear on your carpet as dark soiled spots or areas that are seen at the edges of a room or under the doorways. On occasion, these can be found in the middle of the room as well, in the same pattern as the floorboards.

These markings are also called dust marks, fogging, or filtration soiling. There is a single cause of these. It is from contaminated air blowing across the carpet. The carpet removes the dirt from the surrounding air like a filter, causing the draught marks in those areas. These markings can be difficult to remove.

There are several ways that contaminated air can flow over your carpet:
·       You may have gaps under your molding that lets air through
·       You may have floorboard gaps that let the air flow up through it
·       There may be holes in your carpeting from nails
·       Perhaps there are gaps under the doors letting air in
·       You may have gaps under the curtain bottoms
·       Dust traveling through air vents that are close to the carpet

The best prevention for draught markings is to install draught proof carpeting. This kind of carpet prevents air moving through it, thus preventing draught markings.
If you have draught markings on your carpet, there is a way to remove it. These particles of air are microscopic and they have an oily bond to the carpet fibers. Your ability to remove this soil is directly related to the kind of soil it is and how long it has been on your carpet. We at Carpet Cleaning Nurse's Touch have done extensive amounts of research and tests on ways to remove the draught markings. They have found that fresher marks can be removed most times and that older markings can be removed only to a certain degree, but the carpet will still be left cleaner. Due to the nature of draught markings, cleaning the carpets does not solve the problem. It will continue to occur if the air is flowing over the carpeting.

If the draught lines you have are black and intense, these are very difficult to remove. These are inground soil and can be almost impossible. These black marks on the edges can be venting marks that are created by a gap that is between your molding and the carpet sometimes. Another reason for them, though, is that when someone vacuums the floor with an upright vacuum cleaner, they are not able to get all the way to the edge of the carpet. The brush on the vacuum cannot reach that last little bit of space, so the dirt there never gets sucked up. Over time, this area gets darker until it is noticeable. At this point, the lines are inground and may be difficult to remove, even by a professional. One way to help with this issue is to use the crevice tool that is on the vacuum each time you vacuum your floors.

Now that you know what draught lines are, you know the importance of using a qualified carpet cleaning company like Carpet Cleaning Nurse's Touch regularly to help you rid your carpets of these unsightly lines.