Dear Mr. Know-it-all: We bought new carpeting about a year ago. It's starting to look dirty in some of the high traffic areas. I have always heard that you should wait as long as possible to have your carpets cleaned the first time, because once they've been cleaned, they'll get dirty much faster than when new.

How long should we wait?

Signed, Patient Patty

Dear Patient: That may have been true many years ago, but with today's modern cleaning systems, that's no longer the case.

Early "steam cleaning" and shampoo methods left a heavy dirt-attracting, soap or detergent residue in the carpet. This residue would indeed cause your carpeting to re-soil rather quickly.

Our modern cleaning system does not leave any dirt-attracting residue. Your carpets will not re-soil any quicker than when they were new.

One word of advice: New carpets are designed to hide soil. By the time your carpet begins to look dirty, it is in dire need of cleaning to remove abrasive soils. Waiting too long can actually shorten the life of your carpet.

Dear Mr. Know-it-all: We just bought a bigger house and need to have some work done to it before we move in. Should we have the carpets cleaned before or after we have the interior painted?

Signed, Movin' On Up

Dear Movin': Wait until the painter is done. Even the most careful painter will get an occasional spot of paint on the carpet. When that happens, make sure that they remove as much of it as possible using a mild cleaner. Have them blot the spot, without scrubbing. Whatever you do, don't allow the use of solvents to remove paint in carpeting. Permanent damage could result.

Lastly, schedule us to clean the carpets a couple of days after the painter says he'll be done. Painters are notorious for running behind schedule.

Mr. Know-it-all: