The Dirty True About Our Carpets

Recently, the results of remarkably interesting studies conducted in the UK have come into my hands. The article discussing the results is titled “What Lies Beneath, The Dirty Truth About Our Carpets”. The authors of the study considered the problem of cleaning houses, and especially the issue of maintaining the cleanliness of carpets. The results (especially in comparison with the declarations on the overall maintenance of order in the house) are interesting enough that I decided to share them and bring them closer to Polish readers …

Clean carpets only in our house?

74% of people in the survey think their apartments are quite clean. That is probably why 51% of respondents said they would eat food that fell on their carpet, while only 24% of people would take the same sandwich from their friend’s carpet. So it seems that we are aware of the bacteriological dangers that can be hidden in the fibers of the carpet, but at the same time we are convinced that in our house there is sterile cleanliness and nothing bad threatens us …

If by chance you belong to that 24% that might have happened to the consumption of the microflora of your friends’ carpet, think carefully about whether you want to read the rest of the text…

How often do we clean apartments (carpet cleaning and floor washing)?

As many as 44% of respondents have never washed their carpets, and only 33% of people have unseeded their carpets at least once a week. These results contrast with responses to washing hard floors: 35% of people wash the kitchen floor at least once a week (25% do it up to 4 times a week) and 44% of people wash the bathroom floor with this frequency.

I realize that keeping carpets clean is much more difficult than simply cleaning, such as washing floors made of hard materials (parquet floors, panels, terracotta), but the disparities are surprising. Looking for an explanation for such a disparity, one can hypothesize that we take care of cleaning when the dirt is visible and it begins to disturb us, as 32% of people admit that it is kept to a minimum as long as the apartment looks good, and 23% of those surveyed stated explicitly that it cleans only when absolutely necessary.

Carpets have the ability to “mask” dirt (except for dark fabrics, on which you can see all pollen, hair, and crumbs). And that is probably why we clean them so rarely…

What is in the carpets?

Ignoring the need to systematically clean carpets leads to the accumulation in their ruins of dirt and microbes harmful to the household. An analysis of the content of dirty water collected during carpet washing was part of the study. Dust, pollen, food residues, dead skin, hair, and animal hair – all this accumulates in the fibers of an unpaid carpet and is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria, mites, and other germs.

These observations coincide with my practice: a two-kilogram bag of vacuum cleaner, which I fill my clients’ carpets on average during 1-2 weeks of work, and the water poured after washing the carpet is usually black from dirt.

Since we care poorly about the cleanliness of carpets, such content of their fibers should hardly come as a surprise. Surprising (especially in the collision with the low frequency of carpet cleaning) are, however, domestic habits associated with the use of carpets. I will quote the most interesting of them.

First, most of us regularly bring bacteria and germs from the court directly to the carpet. Only 25% of those surveyed confirmed that they always take off their shoes at the entrance to the apartment (53% never ask their guests to remove their shoes).

Secondly, we ourselves are very often a direct source of bacteria feeding on carpet fibres or supply them with nutrient media. The following figures, especially for vulnerable people, can be shocking:

• 28% of those surveyed admitted that pets had vomited on their carpet (24% of people answered yes when asked if the carpet had been soiled with their pet’s ode!),
• in the case of 30% of people, the vomit of a child (or other people) was placed on the carpet.

Finally, to add all the light piquancy – 22% of respondents confirmed that they had sex on the carpet. I assume that they were not rather people who gave positive answers to an earlier question:)

Summary

The picture of carpet cleanliness outlined by the results of this study is quite sad. Therefore, appeal to everyone – when cleaning apartments and houses remember about carpets. Clean them regularly, and at least 1-2 times a year remember to whisk and wash carpets. It is best to use the services of a specialist who deals with washing professionally such as a carpet cleaning Peterborough. Also, make your children feel that they do not eat things that have fallen to the floor – let them not do it either in your homes or when you are visiting family or friends…