You probably already know that carpets are a magnet for dust. But did you know they had a darker side: one that could harm your kids? Yes, that’s right, carpets can harbor all sorts of nasty things, and it’s your job to sort it out.
The statistics on this are shocking. The average carpet can contain up to four times its weight in dirt, and it could be 4000 times dirtier than your toilet. 90 percent of people say that they have eaten food off the carpet, and three-quarters of people don’t take off their shoes when they walk on them. Suffice to say that our carpets aren’t exactly the most hygienic parts of our homes.
This is what’s lurking beneath your feet.
Mold
There’s a good chance at some point in your carpet’s life that it’s gotten wet. Whether it was a child who spilled a drink or from when you got out of the shower, water on the carpet is a common occurrence. The problem with this. However, is that it can cause mold to grow. Mostly the mold doesn’t grow on the surface of the carpet since the water here is quick to dry. Instead, it gets a foothold deep down, meaning that it’s hard to tell if you have a problem. It’s no good just trying to vacuum it up either using a regular vacuum, as Chem-Dry point out. Home vacuums aren’t strong enough to suck moisture out of the carpet. What’s required is a commercial vacuum that has enough suction to do the job.
Pet Urine
The problem of pet urine in the carpet is almost too gross to think about. But if you’ve got a dog or a cat, it’s probably something you’ve had to deal with at one time or another.
Even if you don’t have a pet, it’s still possible to drag pet and animal waste in from the outside. Given how few people remove their shoes when they enter the house, dirt from animals outside can get dragged into the home and start to wreak havoc on your health.
Bacteria
You’ve heard it said time and time again: there are good bacteria, and there are bad bacteria. The problem is that most of the bacteria living in your carpet are bad bacteria. Often these bacteria can cause stomach problems if they’re not dealt with. Again, regular vacuuming isn’t powerful enough to deal with the problem. The only way to get rid of bacteria for good is to use high heat on your carpets and literally kill them off.
Allergens
Perhaps the biggest problem with carpets is the fact that they harbor allergens. If you’ve got a pet, then pet hair can get incorporated into the carpet and cause symptoms for you and your guests all year long. Carpets are also a magnet for things like grass pollen if you leave your windows open during the spring and summer. A good experiment is to see whether your symptoms go away after having your carpets cleaned.
