So your carpet has gotten long in it's years and is looking worn out in some areas. You're wondering if it's worth saving and if its even cleanable? The best way to clean older carpet is to use a low moisture carpet cleaning system. Carpet is durable, but in Tampa FL sand is everywhere and it prematurely ages your carpet. It scratches the soft carpet fibers allowing dirt to get into those grooves and making it more difficult to clean.
As you can see from the pictures above older carpets, like this 10 year old carpet, can be cleaned. There are some areas where the texture of the carpet has changed do to sand erosion of the fibers. This carpet was cleaned by Chem-Dry of Tampa FL using their hot carbonated extraction cleaning system. It's a low moisture cleaning system that use carbonation to clean the carpet. Carbonation is a powerful cleaner that doesn't require a lot of moisture to be effective.
Your carpet may be damaged from wear and tear over the years and a carpet store will tell you to replace your carpets every 5 years. A carpet manufacturer will tell you to replace your carpet every 8 -10 years, and a carpet cleaner will tell you to replace it when it is no longer recoverable with a professional cleaning. The average carpet life in Tampa FL is shorter due to the sand erosion but I have cleaned carpets that are 15 years old that look like they are only a year old.
The best way to clean old carpets is have it done on an annual basis, or every 6 - 9 months if you have a large family and pets. Regular cleaning is going to help maintain your carpet and extend its life beyond expected years.