Have you ever thought about how clean your  carpets are? Do you know the importance of carpet cleaning for a healthy home? Were you aware that your carpets can hold up to  four times their original weight in dirt and dust?  That’s right, you heard correctly.  Four times it’s weight.  Busy streets and roads kick up a hell of a lot of dust. 

The list of things hiding within your carpet fibers include  insect faeces, dead skin cells, dust mites, pet hair, pet urine, dust,, insect husks, bacteria, mould, volatile organic compounds, and many other types of allergens. A recent study of London households found that…..

• 90% of people admit to spilling food on the carpet and eating it. If your carpets are dirty, just think about what you are actually putting into your stomach. Forget that five-second rule. Bacteria can live for up to four weeks in carpeting, and if there is any in yours, which there likely is, that bacteria is going to get on your food.
• 75% of people admit to walking about the carpets in their house with outdoor shoes on.  This can lead to all manner of things being brought into your home from the street and trodden in to the carpet.  Vacuuming alone will not always rid your carpets of that level of bacteria.
• 70% of people admit to moving furniture around to cover stains in their carpets rather than clean the stains. Spills should be cleaned immediately, to prevent stains from forming. If there are stains, stop moving your furniture around and call a professional carpet cleaning service to get rid of them.

Why my Carpets need Professionally Steam Cleaned

While nobody is disputing the value of vacuuming your home, especially for those with respiratory problems and allergies, it is not always sufficient..  The simple fact is that vacuuming is not going to remove all the ground in bacteria and dirt from your carpets. Your carpets need a deep clean, using hot water, to flush all the allergens and dirt from deep in the carpet.

Also remember that the air that is being blown out of your vacuum is far from clean air.  That’s because the area being vacuumed is one of the five dirtiest places in your home which also includes dish cloths, rubbish bins, washing machine and toilet.  A professional clean of your carpet will remove all the deep down dirt and bacteria which remains within your carpet after cleaning.

Some may describe carpets as a giant filter in the home.  Allergens are trapped within the fibres and vacuumed up.  Have you ever noticed that in homes with hard floors there is often more dust in the air and on surfaces

Carrying on this theme of your carpet as a large air filter within your home you must ask what happens when the filter is full?  Remember what we were saying earlier about dirt and bacteria getting ground into your carpets.  Over time the carpets will get full of this grime and stop keeping your home healthy.  This is when you need to get those carpets professionally cleaned. 

Clean Carpets Reduce Harmful Allergens

Although no-one wants to think about a mountain of dirt, dust, mites and other nasty things buried in their carpet, it is important to make sure your carpets are kept clean; especially if you have kids or someone in your family has allergies. House dust is the number one cause of allergies, and just 0.000001g of an allergen is enough to trigger a reaction.  The case for having a regular carpet clean is very strong.

The Carpet Institute of Australia recommends having your carpets professionally cleaned every 12-18 months; however, they will need doing more often (every 6 – 12 months) if you have kids, pets or allergies. 

If you are one of the 4 in 10 people who has never had your carpet professionally cleaned, or it’s been a year or more since the last visit, it might be time to find a qualified, reliable and professional carpet cleaner to make sure your carpets are completely clean, free of nasties, and not comprising your family’s health.