Dad’s short answer: Twice a year for a typical home. Three or four times with pets, kids, or a high-traffic entry. Spot-clean accidents immediately — that's a separate job and there's no schedule for it, you just do it the moment it happens.

The schedule that works

Whole-room deep cleaning twice a year is the baseline, and spring and fall are natural times for it. Add a cleaning for each of: a shedding pet, small children, a carpeted entryway that takes outdoor traffic, or anybody in the house with allergies.

High-traffic lanes — the path from the door to the couch, the hallway — can take a pass more often than the rest of the room, and there's no harm in doing just those strips rather than the whole floor.

Accidents are separate and immediate. A pet mess or a spill doesn't wait for the schedule. That's what a spot cleaner is for, and dealing with it in the first ten minutes is what decides whether the stain disappears or becomes permanent.

Yes, you can over-clean

This surprises people. Cleaning too often, especially with too much detergent, leaves residue that attracts dirt and makes the carpet look dingy faster. Over-wetting also risks the backing and the pad underneath, which is where mildew starts.

The rule that keeps you safe: use the recommended amount of solution, not extra, and make dry passes at the end until the machine stops pulling water up. Carpet should be damp when you finish, not wet, and dry within a few hours with a fan and some airflow.

If your carpet gets dirty noticeably faster after a cleaning, that's almost always detergent residue, not bad luck.

Dad’s Take: Twice a year, more with pets, and never with extra soap. Over-soaping is why some people's carpet looks worse a month later.