Proper care and maintenance of a carpet, extends the life of a carpet, appreciably. It also results in lesser cleaning and shampooing cycles saving costs and time.
Some simple precautions while using carpets helps in a long way in maintaining the carpet as new for a longer period and also maintain its shine and pile fluffiness.

carpet care tips
Water damage
Carpets made from cotton or wool are particularly prone to damage due to water. In case of synthetic carpets the damage due to water retention by carpets is comparatively less.
Carpets from natural substances tend to absorb water and if this water is not dried at the earliest, it tends to make the carpet base, the weft, stiffer. Repeated absorption of water by the carpets adds to the stiffening and damaging the carpet. On rolling of a stiff carpet, a cracking noise may be heard. This is the noise of the fibers in the weft and warps breaking apart.

Pet chews
Puppies during tooth growth tend to chew on rugs. Care should be taken to keep puppies away from rug carpets during their tooth growth period.

Damage due to sunlight
Exposure to bright sunlight results in the carpet losing its color to some extent. Place the carpet in such a manner that bright sunlight does not fall directly on the carpet. If this is not possible, cover the window with drapes to avoid direct sunlight.
After a certain period of time, the carpet rug ares which are exposed to sunlight, might loose their color as compared to other areas. This results in the rug looking un-even, To avoid this, rotate the carpet end-to-end once a year.

Storage
If a carpet needs to be rolled and stored for a period of more than a few months, it should be cleaned, sprayed and wrapped in plastic. Having a plastic wrapping around the carpet is helpful as it keeps away dusts, insects and moisture. Before storing the carpet, it has to be dried out completely and stored in a clean, dry place away from reach of rodents.