Battling Bad Bugs: How Green Carpet Cleaning Keeps Dangers Away

Carpets are a great addition to any home. They add warmth and comfort to rooms and give something nice and soft under bare feet. A nice, thick, lush carpet is a great luxury to have and enjoy in any household. However, even with regular vacuuming and carpet cleaning, a carpet can still remain dirty. In fact, each year, several pounds of soil can accumulate in and under your carpet. Regular carpet cleaning, especially from a reputable commercial carpet cleaning service, will help keep a lot of that dirt under control.

However, there is much more than dirt teeming inside of your carpet. Along with that dirt can live a host of bacteria, germs, and other nasty bugs that you’d sooner live without! Even carpeting that’s relatively new can host lots of bacteria, viruses and other germs, according to research from microbiologists. In fact, according to research, the average carpet can contain up to 200,000 bacteria per square inch! In comparison, the typical toilet seat has a mere 49 bacteria per square inch- a difference of over 4,000 times. Germs in your carpet can cause you to set off allergy attacks or, even worse, cause serious illness.

So What's Down There Under Your Feet?

Carpets are not always as clean as they appear to be - even after a typical carpet cleaning. A typical carpet pile can hold as much as four times its weight in dirt. Larger shags tend to hold in even more. By way of gravity, carpets are a catch-all for everything that falls onto them. Dirt from shoes, food particles, pet hair, dander, and urine, soil, and sand make up a large portion of that debris. Human organics like dead skin cells, mucus, sweat, and saliva also make up part of the mess. Volatile organic compounds from sprays and chemicals also cling to the fibers.

In addition, many types of allergens, such as pollen, dander, spores, and dust can settle into our carpet. For those who have environmental or seasonal allergies, any of these can be a health issue. In fact, exceptionally dirty carpets can lead to serious health problems in otherwise healthy people.

The Carpet Dwellers

In addition, carpets can have many different organisms living in them. Dust mites, bacteria, and mold can take refuge in your carpet. But that’s not all. Insect feces, along with their husks and other insect parts may come to rest on your carpet after they expired.

Microbes Also Lurk Under Your Feet

All this ‘soup’ of dirt, organics, and liquid combine to create the perfect environment for bacteria, mold, and viruses to flourish. Viruses such as noroviruses and Salmonella are the bugs that can cause GI distress such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. They can be especially dangerous to young children and elderly adults. According to microbiologists, these nasty bugs like to hide in carpet fibers and are easily transmitted to humans. They cite outbreaks in hotels and cruise ships, where investigators found that carpeting frequently tested positive for the virus.  They also state that the 'five-second rule' is just a myth.

How to Best Keep Your Carpet Clean?

Between green carpet cleaning services, you should also make sure to take the time to do your own carpet cleaning. Most carpet manufacturers and carpet cleaners recommend vacuuming your carpet once per week. Using a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter will help remove a good portion of the dirt and particulate matter on the top layers of your carpet. In addition, if you cover your carpet with area rugs, make sure to clean and thoroughly dry them every month or two as well, depending on the amount of traffic it gets.

You can also take precautions to ensure dirt never makes it to your carpet in the first place. For example, you can wipe feet vigorously on the doormat before entering the house. Even better, take off your shoes and stow them by the door. This helps to minimize dirt and debris on your carpets. You can also apply soil retardants and baking soda to the surface of your carpet when vacuuming to assist in keeping dirt from grinding into the carpet- especially in higher traffic areas. In fact, to make a carpet brighter, you can sprinkle salt onto the carpet and let it stand for an hour before vacuuming it up. Salt is also effective in removing muddy footprints.

A Green Carpet Cleaning Twice a Year Keeps Your Carpet Full of Cheer

So what’s the best way to clean a carpet? Well, most professional carpet manufacturers suggest hiring a professional carpet cleaner twice per year for a deep carpet cleaning. A good carpet cleaning job by a professional green carpet cleaning technician will remove most, if not all, of the mix of dirt, dust, and more from your carpet fibers.

Be sure to click through our articles for more great carpet cleaning tips. And if you’re looking for a great green carpet cleaning solution in the Los Aneles area, look no further than the experts at Naturally Green Cleaning. With professional green carpet cleaning and a little maintenance, you can minimize the amount of bad stuff accumulating in your carpet. And that will give you a reason to breathe easier.