What’s hiding in your carpet?

Your carpet could be infested with more than you think! From dead skill cells to insect faeces yes, your carpet can hold up to four times its weight in dirt. Carpets are a hotspot for dirt, dust mites, pet hair, pet urine, dead skin cells, dust, insects faeces, insects husks, bacteria, mould, volatile organic compounds and many other types of allergens clinging to the carpet fibres. The more your carpet collects the more ill it could be making you- you could be a very healthy person, but your carpets could be hindering your health.

When you drop your food on the floor and continue to eat it, stop. The five second rule? Forget it. If your carpets are infested with the things listed before (dead skin cells, dust mites, insects faeces etc.) then do you really want to be eating that? Voluntarily? Bacteria can live up to four weeks in your carpets, so its more likely than not that bacteria is going to get into your food.

When you’ve forgotten something inside and you keep your shoes on, because it will be quicker, stop. The dirt and bacteria from outside gets tracked and embedded into your carpet so it results in a vacuum not being enough to get rid of it. The convenience is only affecting yourself and your home.

We all know what you’re trying to hide under your rearranged sofa, drawers and cabinets; you’re not fooling anyone! Spills should be cleaned immediately to reduce the risk of stains (there will be a blog coming soon about how to remove specific stains!). If the stains persist, call us! A professional carpet cleaner will be much more effective than apiece of furniture.

We always recommend vacuuming 2-3 times a week and having your carpets professionally cleaned every 12-18 months, although this doesn’t always happen its what we recommend for reduce health risks in your home. If you have young children or pets you want your carpets to be cleaned regularly due to the fact that young children lay, sit, crawl and play on the carpet- so to reduce the risks that effect adults on a day to day basis, your carpet needs to be looked after more regularly.

• Here is a breakdown of what’s in your carpet and what it’s doing there:
• Dust mites- These microscopic critters feed off the dead skin cells that you and your family shed on a day to day basis (that’s approximately 1.5 million skin cells per hour… per person… gross, I know)
• The best way to eliminate dust mites is by exposing them to intense heat near 105oc for about 10 minutes: you should also run your bed sheets, pillowcases etc. through a hot tumble dryer.
• The most popular and thorough carpet cleaning method to eliminate dust mites is the hot water extraction, where the water temperature can reach 230oF or more.

• Fleas- Yes your dog or cat might not be scratching but fleas can come into your home and hide on your clothes, or in your shoes and they begin to defecate, eat, bite you, your children, pets, they also reproduce.
• Although they only live between 30-90 days they females can lay up to 5,000 eggs during this lifespan.
• Bacteria and Virus’- Some viruses and bacteria can survive on un-cleaned carpets for up to 4 weeks. Viruses like Norovirus (which is the cause of stomach flu).
• Pollen- Another reason you could be experiencing hay fever inside is because your carpet collects pollen, in the summer especially with our busy outdoor lifestyle we end up bringing the pollen into our homes (referring back to my earlier point about the shoes!).

These are just some of what is lurking in your carpet, scary when you think about it! This is why we recommend making sure your carpets are as clean as they can be.

If you have any questions about the following, would like some tips or would like us to come and clean your carpets give us a call on 07305 579 331 or email us info@thesteam.team