While COVID-19 is a top concern for illnesses, the truth is that flu season is right around the corner. Other people battle allergies all year long ranging from dust to pollen. When it comes to keeping your home healthy, clean carpet can go a long way. Let’s talk about how to keep your home healthy with clean carpet, along with other cleaning tips for healthy living.
What’s the Deal with Dirty Carpet?
Dirty carpet is more than just an issue of cosmetics. While dirty carpet is unsightly, it also poses potential problems. Unfortunately, even carpet that appears clean might still be a breeding ground for tiny mites and other bugs.
First, consider that there are 200,000 bacteria on every square inch of carpet. If you have 1200 sq feet of carpeting in your home, this is an incredible amount of bacteria that is living on your floor.
Worst of all, Good Housekeeping estimates that your carpet can be up to 4,000 dirtier than your toilet seat.
What bacteria can you expect to find in your carpet? There is a considerable variety that you’ll find lurking in the fibers. MRSA and Norovirus are just a few that can make you sick. You can also find salmonella and even E. Coli on the carpet.
Unfortunately, germs that make you sick are only one part of the problem. If you want to keep your home healthy with clean carpet, you must consider the bugs that also live there as well.
Bugs that You’ll Find in Your Carpet
While difficult to see, both clean and dirty carpet can be a home for different types of bugs. One of those is bed bugs, which are happy to call your carpet home.
Bed bugs prefer living in mattresses, but they are willing to infest carpet as well. Bed bugs can be identified by their flattened round shape, looking similar to a tick. They can swell up and turn purple to red after eating, which makes them appear like an entirely different bug.
Meanwhile, another critter that might be hanging out in your carpet is dust mites. Unfortunately, dust mites are nearly everywhere and they’re difficult (but not impossible) to see with the naked eye.
Lastly, carpet beetles are another bug that might be living in your carpet. They can destroy carpets, clothing, and other items that have a fabric exterior. The larvae feed on fabric while adults eat pollen.
Considering Carpet Allergies
If you suffer from allergies, a dirty carpet can play a significant role in your well-being. That’s because carpet can act as a magnet to things like pet hair and pollen.
What’s worse is that a dirty carpet will just collect more and more dirt. Once the carpet is dirty with allergen producing elements, it will continue to compound until it is cleaned.
This is why it’s important to keep your carpet vacuumed regularly. It will help remove pet hair, pollen, and even dust mites. These are all allergies that many people suffer with all through the year. Don’t forget that mold can also make its way into your carpet, causing other allergy symptoms.
When you have allergies stemming from your carpet, you might experience symptoms such as sneezing, watery eyes, itchy skin, and even eyes.
Keep a Healthy Home with Clean Carpet
When it comes to having a clean home, one of the top places to start is with your carpet. Not only can it alleviate allergies, but it can also prevent illnesses.
But where do you start when it comes to a clean carpet? Consider the following advice:
Get to Vacuuming
The first step for a home with clean carpeting is to grab your vacuum. Make sure the bag or canister is empty before you begin. Pick up all items from the floor and be prepared to move furniture as necessary.
As you vacuum, start in the furthest corner of the floor away from the door. This ensures that you don’t walk over the carpet that you just vacuumed, which is especially important if you have shoes on.
While you continue vacuuming, overlap the carpet streaks by at least 30% to ensure that you have adequate coverage.
If you have allergies, you might want to consider vacuuming at least once a day. This will keep a healthy home with clean carpet by eliminating germs, dander, pollen, and more.
Sprinkling a small amount of baking soda can help keep the carpet clean between vacuums. It helps to reduce odors and aids the vacuum in removing the odor.
Clean up Carpet Stains
Dried blood and spilled food can attract insects, including ants. Cleaning spills immediately results in cleaner carpet and makes it easier to wash away.
How do you effectively clean carpet stains? This depends on the type of stain and how long it’s been on the carpet.
Ink stains can be removed by using Windex. Meanwhile, pet stains can be cleaned up with warm water, vinegar, and dish soap.
Schedule a Carpet Cleaning
The best way to ensure that you have clean carpet is by getting your carpet cleaned. It’s ideal to have your carpet cleaned at least once a year, but once every 6 months is best.
This is because the cleaning company can reach deeper into the fibers than your vacuum can’t access. Carpet cleaning companies can also effectively remove nearly all stains, ensuring a healthy home with clean carpet.
More Ways to Keep Your Carpet Clean
Aside from vacuuming, what else can you do to keep a healthy home? Taking extra steps to keep your carpet clean can go a long way.
Take off Your Shoes
This quick and easy step can keep dirt out of your home. Shoes can track an incredible amount of dirt and grime into your home. Taking off shoes before you enter can stop dirt right at the door.
Asking guests to remove their shoes is also beneficial for keeping your carpet clean.can keep dirt from tracking inside the house. Simply removing your shoes before you walk inside can keep dirt from entering through the door at all.
Meanwhile, you can always ask guests to remove their shoes as well. While kids run in and out during the summer months, remind them to keep their shoes off while they are in the house.
Use Rugs and Mats to Protect Carpet Flooring
Putting an entry mat down at a front door or back door also deters dirt from coming inside. Wiping your shoes from mud will help wipe away some of the dirt before entering.
Don’t Delay in Cleaning up Spills
When something is spilled on the floor, cleaning it up with haste can save you from headaches down the road. Spills are easier to clean when they are fresh, which keeps you from spending excessive time scrubbing.
Change Your Air Filters
What does your air filter have to do with your carpet? More than you think! By keeping your air filter clean, it reduces the number of particles that are let into the air. If the air filters are full of dirt and dust, this can settle inside the carpet and become trapped. When the dust gets kicked up while you walk around, it can trigger allergic reaction symptoms.
Make Sure Your Pup (or Cat) is Potty Trained
When it comes to pet stains on the carpet, prevention is the best course of action. Properly potty training your dog can keep accidents from occuring the house.
If there is a problem with your pup going inside the house, there are ways to help with this as well. You can put training pads down so your dog has a designed area for relief. Another idea is to use a repellent, which is an odor that the dog will find unpleasant and deter him from marking his territory.
Commercial repellents can work in this case, but white vinegar, lemon juice, and rubbing alcohol can work as a repellent as well.
Why Does Your Carpet Get Dirty so Easily?
When it comes to keeping a healthy home with clean carpet, you might wonder why your carpet gets dirty so easily. There are several explanations to this. First, carpet tends to attract greasy dirt and residue. The dirtier the carpet, the more dirt it will attract.
Your carpet also absorbs sandy soil. You can see this by parting the carpet fibers where you will find sandy soil within. This can come as a shock, and the bad news is that the typical home vacuum cannot reach this area for cleaning.
The most important element to keep your home healthy with clean carpet is scheduling for a carpet cleaning. Whether you’re concerned about asthma, allergies, or other issues, a carpet is at its cleanest when a professional crew is on the job.
When you need your carpet cleaned for a healthy home, get in touch with us today to learn more.