Will it damage my carpet to keep it covered with rugs for long periods of time?
My carpet is a light color. I want to keep the heavy traffic areas like the living room and office covered. Am I doing more damage than good?
Green Area Rugs
Color Your Floor Green!
You are not doing "damage" per say, but just remember that if you keep the rugs there for a long period of time, when you finally remove them the carpet under where the rug WAS will be in pristine condition while the carpet surrounding it will be darker, stained, and dirtied.
that will keep those areas clean
In general, there is no lasting damage from covering up your carpets with area rugs.
If your carpets are dark colored and exposed to bright sunlight then you might notice that they fade slightly over time. If you have carpet over some areas, then those areas won’t fade and will look different, leaving a permanent noticeable area.