What’s Hiding in Your Carpet?

Carpet can be a great flooring option, adding warmth and comfort to a home or business. But do you know what’s really lurking in carpet? Because of all the traffic it encounters daily, carpet attracts and hides some of the worst allergens, bacteria, germs, organisms and other hazardous particles. Dirty carpets can affect your health and the indoor air quality of your home or business, and create unpleasant odors over time.

What's Hiding in Your Carpet?

Dirt and Soil

The average U.S. home can accumulate up to 40 pounds of dust per year. Dirt and soil are easily tracked in from outside and make their way into your carpet. Vacuuming regularly can eliminate as much as 85% of dirt and soil found in carpet.

Pet Hair, Dander and Skin Flakes

The average person sheds 1.5 million skin flakes per day. Microscopic insects (such as fleas, ticks or mites) feed on skin flakes or dander. Regular vacuuming can help reduce the amount of dead skin cells and pet hair that have fallen into your carpet.

Bugs

Your carpet also harbors a number of species of bed bugs, fleas and dust mites. Mites can cause allergies through their molted skin, waste and through the mites themselves.

Mildew, Mold and Other Bacteria

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there! Pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, and staphylococcus can hide in carpet fibers and cause illness. Mold or mildew can also thrive in a warm, wet environment. Keeping carpet dry will help prevent the formation of mold or mildew.

Odors

Toxic substances from cigarette smoke can make their way into carpet fibers. Pet urine and spilled food or drink can also cause odors to form in your carpet if not cleaned immediately and properly.

Food and Drinks

Spilled food or drink may not only leave stains but also may serve as a food source for bacteria and organisms. To prevent permanent stains or odors from forming, the key is to act quickly! Absorb any spilled liquids by blotting. Then spot treat the area.

Not only do these things not sound very appealing, but they also carry with them a number of consequences and risks for your family’s health. The contaminants that exist in your carpet can cause allergies, sneezing, colds, or breathing problems. If there are toxic substances from cigarette smoke embedded in your carpet, your family may even be at risk for cancer. The waste produced by dust mites can also cause allergic reactions.

How to Minimize the Carpet Culprits

Taking off shoes before walking on carpet can reduce the amount of dirt and other bacteria that are tracked in and stomped into the carpet.
Placing area rugs in high-traffic areas, as they are washable and can be replaced more easily than carpeting.
Vacuuming once or twice a week is a great start to reducing the number of contaminants in your carpet. But since vacuuming cannot remove everything that’s hiding in your carpet, you must take extra steps to get your carpet as clean as possible.
Having your carpets professionally deep cleaned once a year can reduce the amount of unseen pests, prevent sickness and allergies, and remove or prevent undesirable odors. Deep cleaning reaches down to the bottom layers of your carpet.

Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services

Rainbow Restoration® offers expert carpet and upholstery cleaning, odor removal and stain removal services for your home or business. Call the experts at Rainbow Restoration today at and schedule an appointment to improve the look and feel of your home’s carpets.