Something You Might Not Have Known
No one loves to have dirty carpets. They reduce the aesthetic appeal of your home, and they can also be a real pain in the neck to deal with. However, the problem with dirty carpets goes far beyond just their look. There are several other disadvantages that you get from leaving your carports dirty. Below, we’ll look into some of the facts about dirty carpets that you probably haven’t heard of. Maybe they will get you to start cleaning yours:
- Your Carpets Get Dirty Everyday
Every day, your carpet takes a significant amount of traffic. You step on it, as do your friends, children, visitors, and even your pets. With all of this traffic, residue from the rooms in your home and the feet of those who step on it will stay with the carpet. Over time, these particles can dry and sink even deeper into the carpet’s fiber.
According to Tim Summers, an expert from NO1 Carpet Cleaning Melbourne, all of this residue will trap dirt in your carpet’s fibres and eventually change its colour. He further mentioned that if left even longer, you will have traffic lanes on the carpet – which are difficult, if not impossible, to clean. So, when next you put off a carpet cleaning, think of the fact that your carpet has been taking a lot of dirt in for days now.
- A Dirty Carpet Holds More Bugs than Your Toilet Seat
Thanks to the traffic they hold, carpets usually get dirty pretty quickly. In some cases, a dirty carpet can hold up to 4,000 times the germs in your toilet seat. With so many organisms living in the, there’s really no telling how bad this could get. Interestingly, many of these bugs might not even get to infect people. Most bugs that get into the carpet stay there, and they die off eventually. So, your carpet could just be a huge cemetery for bugs. Which is better- dead bugs or live ones? These days, no one even knows. Again, this is a significant reason why you want to get your carpets cleaned as quickly and frequently as possible. Besides cleaning the carpets, you might also want to watch for gaps in your doors and windows to keep bugs out in the first place.
- Carpets Should Never Come in Contact With Shoes
Some of us make the mistake of wearing shoes with our carpets. This is very wrong. Shoes are the easiest ways for your carpets to track dirt and other materials, and they’re especially deadly because they track a lot of materials into the carpet’s fibers. So, if you’ve got carpets, this is the time to change how you use them. Never wear shoes with your carpet, and make sure that your visitors take their shoes off before they step on your carpets as well.
- Sandy Oil Can Cause Permanent Damage to Carpets
Different types of dirt could affect your carpet. However, sandy oil might be the worst. As the name suggests, this is a mixture of sand (usually gotten from peoples’ feet) and oil(from food stains and others). Sandy oil is worse because it can’t be completely taken out by vacuum cleaners. The dirt isn’t visible, but it constantly grinds against the carpet’s material whenever you walk or sit on it.
- Dirty Carpets Harbour Germs
Besides making your house look great, your carpet also acts as a filter. It traps air pollutants like fungi, pollen, chemicals, and bacteria. This is especially true if the carpet has thick fibers that easily latch on to these organisms that won’t let go. The ability for carpets to trap so much dirt isn’t so bad. But, the problem comes when the carpet gets so “full” that it is no longer able to hold these pollutants. Then, it starts to release them into the environment, and they could make you sick.
- Dust Mites Love Dirty Carpets
If you’ve got pets, then their droppings tend to easily find their way to carpets. The problem there is that droppings easily carry dust mites, which will then settle into the carpet’s fibers. These dust mites can eventually trigger allergy-causing effects like asthma, rhinitis, and even eczema. Most people with these conditions might not even know that the problems are just beneath their feet. It’s another reason why you should always clean your carpets.
- Dirt Makes Your Carpets Heavier
Here’s a quick statistic for you – carpets actually hold as much as four times their weight in dirt. In extreme cases, they could hold even more. Carpets trap any type of dirt they can – including allergens, insect husks, and bacteria. Everything clings to them, and they become heavier the longer you go without cleaning.
- Carpets Could Also Cause Mold Growth
One of the biggest issues with most carpets is that they take up many fluids and liquids. Spills from liquids, beverages, and much more easily get into the carpet’s fibers and cause various issues – including discoloration, smells, and more. It’s bad enough that many of these spills will be difficult to take out. However, even worse is the fact that many drink spills tend to sink into the carpet’s fibers much faster than you can blot them out. If the carpet has thick fibers that trap things easily, you could be in even deeper trouble.
Spilled drinks and food can get deep into the carpet’s pad and fibers, thus becoming a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Besides the fact that these cause stains on your floor, they could also cause the growth of indoor allergies. So, people with asthma and other respiratory challenges will find it really difficult to breathe easily. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that drink spills that get into your carpet fibers might be difficult to see on time.
So, the next time you have a food or drink spill, try to blot them out as quickly as possible. Then, use an enzyme cleaner to remove all residues.
- The 5-Second Rule Doesn’t Work For Carpets
The 5-second rule states that food dropped on the ground can be picked up and eaten within 5 seconds. But, when it comes to dirty carpets, this rule is mute. If a carpet is really dirty, any food dropped on it is better off forgotten.
- You Could Be Feeding Mites Through Dirty Carpets
The average person sheds 1.5 million skin flakes daily. Now, multiply that by the number of people in your home and you’ll find that to be quite a lot. These flakes eventually have to go somewhere – most times, it’s the ground. They get wedged between the carpet’s fibers, where they become food for dust mites. Remember that dust mites cause allergies.
The short-term solution to this will be to vacuum the carpet regularly and keep it dry. But, a deep cleaning is usually the best way to ensure long-term safety.
- You Should Get a Professional Cleaning Regularly
We recommend getting a professional carpet cleaning service to come to your house and treat your carpet every three months. Make a schedule and keep to it as much as possible.
- Dirty Carpets Can be a Source of the Norovirus
Also known as the Norwalk virus, Norovirus is a contagious virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea, and more. It can stay for up to six weeks in your carpet, and it becomes airborne as soon as it is triggered – by walking, rolling, etc.
