There are lots of things that we already know aren’t good for our health – smoking, eating lots of junk food and not exercising, for example – but can having dirty carpets also be bad for your health? The answer is yes. Although an unclean carpet is unlikely to kill you, it can still have a detrimental impact on your everyday health and wellbeing, especially if you’re prone to allergies. Health problems can be prevented, however, simply by choosing a professional that specialises in carpet cleaning for allergies to regularly maintain the good condition of your carpets.
1. How carpets can make you unwell
Carpets are made up of thousands of individual strands, tightly woven together. The dense weave of a carpet makes it an ideal magnet for attracting small particles of dirt and pathogens, whether from the air, on our skin, hair, clothes or feet. The more a carpet is walked on, the more these organisms and particles are pushed deeper into carpet fibres, and the harder it is for them to be removed by a domestic vacuum cleaner alone.
Many of the particles and pathogens that end up in a carpet can multiply over time, and this is where your health can quickly become impacted. The problem is further compounded by the fact that a lot of the substances that can live in a carpet and make you feel unwell aren’t visible, so even if you think a carpet’s clean, it might not be.
You could end up living with uncomfortable symptoms on a daily basis, such as sneezing, a runny nose, itchy skin, watery eyes, a sore throat, breathing and other respiratory problems, without realising that an unclean carpet could be to blame.
2. Dust mites
One of the biggest carpet-dwelling culprits for affecting your health is dust mites. These microscopic pests live in house dust, and they’re especially fond of setting up home in any type of fabric, especially carpets. In fact, in just one square yard of carpet, there could be as many as 100,000 dust mites. The reason they like carpets so much is because they can find all the food they need to thrive, including dead skin cells, pet dander, food crumbs and any other bits of dirt – they’re not fussy!
Dust mites can be the bane of your life if you suffer from allergies, so speak to experts who provide carpet cleaning for allergies to eradicate these pests from your carpets, and your life.
Whilst it’s impossible to completely eradicate every dust mite in your home, by keeping the numbers down through getting your carpets and other fabric items regularly cleaned, you can reduce exposure and prevent your health from suffering.
3. Bacteria and germs
If carpets aren’t professionally cleaned on a regular basis, bacteria and germs can also start to build up. No matter how many times you vacuum a carpet, you won’t remove these pathogens. It’s thought that an unclean carpet could harbour as many as 200,000 bacteria in just a square inch of carpet alone. That’s around 4,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat!
Bacteria and germs can be airborne or arrive in a carpet from unclean footwear. Whilst some are harmless, others such as E.coli and salmonella can make you very poorly, especially for vulnerable groups of people such as babies and the elderly.
These harmful pathogens can be removed from a carpet when you get it professionally cleaned. A reputable company will use industrial equipment and deep cleaning methods that effectively sanitise carpets, destroying any organisms present. For example, steam cleaning is one way to deep clean a carpet, and because it cleans at a high temperature, organisms in a carpet are killed by the heat.
Moreover, bacteria can feed off dirt and old stains in a carpet, potentially making the carpet smelly. So it’s a good idea to make sure stains are properly removed from a carpet through professional cleaning, to stop bacteria and odours from taking hold.
4. Pets and carpets
If you own pets, and have carpets in your home, this could provide the perfect storm for health problems, both to you and your pets.
Contrary to what many people think, it’s not pet fur in carpets that can make you feel unwell, but the dander that’s found in loose fur, and which can end up in a carpet. Dander is, essentially, particles of dead skin cells, and, like pollen, these allergens can travel through the air, so may even end up in carpets in rooms which are out of bounds to your pets.
Pet dander can be responsible for triggering a wide variety of uncomfortable health symptoms in humans, including sneezing, a stuffy nose, skin rashes and even shortness of breath.
As well as pet dander, pets that pick up fleas, ticks or worms can cause infestations in carpets, resulting in skin bites. Pest faeces in carpets may also trigger skin dermatitis in sufferers.
Conversely, pets can also be allergic to unclean carpets, so it’s not just humans who suffer the consequences.
To prevent these problems from arising, seek professionals who provide carpet cleaning for pet allergies.
5. Mould
Mould is a particular problem for carpets. Mould spores reproduce when they come into contact with a damp surface, so if a carpet gets wet, either through a drinks spillage or from being cleaned, and it doesn’t get properly dried, mould can start to grow.
Mould will probably form at the bottom of the carpet, by the underlay, so chances are you won’t even notice it at first. But over time, mould can make a carpet smelly, discolour it and even damage it.
Worse still, mould can have negative consequences for your health if left untreated. It can worsen allergies and even cause bronchitis.
If mould problems are suspected, speak to a professional company that deals with carpet cleaning for allergies, and has experience in dealing with carpet mould.
It’s especially important to get your carpets cleaned by a company that won’t overwet your carpets, and one that uses effective drying processes that are quick, so mould doesn’t have a chance to regrow.
At Carpet Bright UK, we provide professional cleaning services for carpets that remove the visible and invisible dirt that could be harmful to your health. Cleaner carpets can have a positive impact on the quality of the air you breathe inside your home, creating a healthier, happier and more comfortable living environment.
