We’ve spent the last year and then some doing our best to keep our homes as clean as possible, but it can be shockingly easy to forget about your carpets and the things that take up residence there. With so many potential hidden forms of dirt, grime, bacteria, and allergens hiding in the foundation of your home, it’s officially the perfect time of year to seriously consider giving your carpets the deep, industrial clean that they deserve. Dazzle CC recommends having your carpets professionally cleaned at least one to two times a year, but more often if you’ve got a lot of traffic or heavy soiling due to pets or children – or maybe just a wayward glass of red wine or two on a Friday night :-) Keep reading to find out more about the plethora of things hiding in your carpets, and how they can build up over time.
Dirt and soil
The average home can accumulate up to 40 pounds of dust per year. Dirt and soil are easily tracked in from outside and can leave a lingering effect on your previously clean carpets! Vacuuming regularly – between two and three times a week – can eliminate up to 85% of dirt and soil found in your carpet.
Pet hair, dander, and skin flakes
The average person sheds FIVE MILLION skin flakes per day – gross, right? Microscopic insects such as fleas, ticks, or mites, feed on skin cells and dander. Vacuuming can help reduce the number of dead skin cells and pet dander, but a professional high-heat steam cleaning is essential if you’re wanting full sanitization.
Bugs
No matter how well you keep them clean at home, your carpet can become infested with bed bugs, fleas, and dust mites. Dust mites cause allergies through the skin that they shed, their waste, and the dirtier the carpets are, the more they flourish. That’s why it’s so important to keep your carpets as clean as possible to reduce the presence of these pesky critters.
Mildew, mold, and other forms of bacteria
Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there! Pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, and staphylococcus hide in carpet fibers and are capable of causing extreme illness. Mold and mildew can also thrive in a warm, wet environment, which means that keeping your carpet dry and well-ventilated is key to preventing mold from forming. Avoid carpet cleaning companies that claim their services take more than a day to dry – Dazzle CC’s patented techniques will have your carpets fully dry within three to six hours.
Odors
Nobody likes a smelly home! Toxic substances from cigarette smoke and outdoor pollution can make their way easily into the fibers of your carpet. Pet urine and spilled food and drink also cause odors to form in your carpet if not cleaned immediately and properly. Thankfully, Dazzle CC offers emergency spot cleaning treatments, as well as a house-made spot cleaner to use between professional cleanings.
Food and drinks
Spilling food and drinks on the carpet might not seem like a big deal if you can no longer see the stain, but it can still linger further down into the fibers and serve as nourishment for bacteria and other harmful organisms! To prevent permanent stains and odour from forming, the key is to act quickly. Absorb any spilled liquids by blotting – not rubbing – and then spot treat the area with Dazzle’s eco-friendly cleaning solution.
How to minimize what’s hiding in your carpet?
None of these things sound very appealing, and all of them can carry a number of risks and consequences towards your family’s heath and well-being. The contaminants in your carpets can cause allergies, colds, respiratory illnesses, and even a severe outbreak of the flu. Most notably, if there are any cigarette smoke toxins lingering in your carpet, this can be a potential risk for cancer if not treated properly.
Here are some preventative measures to take into account:
- Taking off shoes before walking on carpet can reduce the amount of dirt and other bacteria and germs 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 odours. High heat extraction steam cleaning by Dazzle CC reaches down to the bottom layers of your carpet, ridding your home of every nasty containment.
Interested in booking an appointment with Dazzle CC?
Feel free to contact us here, or even send us a DM over on our Instagram to start the booking process! We are always here to help, and we would love to take care of what’s hiding in your carpets.
