I was chatting with a client today when she came to pick up her clean rugs. She was telling me how her friends said for the amount of money she paid for cleaning she could just get two new rugs. They were right for the $50.00 she paid to get her two small rugs cleaned and protected she could have replaced them with new ones, but.......................
Let's look at the bigger picture and impact of throwing out the rugs she had. The small scatter mats she has are pieces of synthetic carpet that have been edged to make rugs, they are not bio-degradable and most likely the rugs she would buy to replace them would also be synthetic and not bio-degradable. So what are the benefits to the environment or to her wallet? There wouldn't be any benefit, but we are a disposable society and if it costs the same to clean a rug as it is to buy new, we tend to buy new. Which is kinda sad.
I recently watched a show on TV about how cities were built around, over and because of trash. It is truly amazing the amount of stuff that we throw away because it is easier to replace than to clean or repair. How can we say we are environmentally minded when most of the things we use are not made to recycle?
If you ever want to try the experiment to see how much trash you generate just stop taking out your trash for 2-3 weeks. See how fast it builds up. After the time period sort through the bags and see how much stuff didn't need to be in the trash due to recycling or buying differently. Make a date to tour your locate landfill site to see what they are doing to control our trash and what you can do to help reduce the amount you contribute. It is eye opening. I stopped buying a particular battery operated toothbrush because there was no way to replace or recharge the battery. That didn't seem like a very environmentally friendly product to me.
Back to area rugs, It happens a lot that people are shocked at the cost of cleaning their rugs, but in the end it is cheaper than buying a new area rug every time the current one gets too dirty. With regular vacuuming, cleaning up spills when they happen, rotating your rugs, and getting your rug cleaned every 1-2 years is better for your wallet and the environment. It is hard to say that we are a "green" society when most of the things we use are disposable.
Thanks for reading, RugloverMary, thinking green cleaning for area rugs
