Keeping your carpet clean and fresh is essential to being able to enjoy the time you spend at home.  Relaxing in your lounge is impossible when there are bits of debris, dust, hairs and stains dotted around your floor.  Whilst we all know that a clean carpet is something high on our cleaning agendas, we did a little research to find out the top ten reasons why people clean their carpets or hire a professional carpet cleaning service;

1. During a one-off, spring clean
2. When moving house
3. Holiday or seasonal cleaning
4. Preparing for a new-born
5. Friends and relatives visiting
6. Catastrophic drink spillage
7. 7Animal and pet accidents
8. Cleaning up after a messy party
9. Repetitive, monthly cleans
10. “I’ve been meaning to do it for a while…”

You’ll notice that everything on the list relates to the cosmetic appearance, rather than any health issues.  But having an unclean carpet can have serious implications on yours (and your family’s) health.  Think about what your carpet is filtering out, if you’ve ever had laminate flooring then you know the clumps of hair and dust which can gather with no carpet to stick to.  Carpets collect and store anything spilled or dropped onto the carpet, anything in the air which settles too.

Whilst none of us particularly want to know what might be living beneath our feet, there is an astounding amount of organic material in the average carpet.  Dust mites are particularly dangerous, but alongside these critters you can expect to find bio contaminants and volatile organic compounds.  Outside of the organic sphere, don’t be surprised if you find grease, oil, sand, dirt, food and a worrying amount of allergens in an unclean carpet too.

Think of your carpet like an air filter on a car, or the lint tray in your tumble dryer.  Every now and again you need to empty it or clean it out; otherwise it just keeps filling up…

The largest fibre producers and carpet mills in the world all agree that carpets should have regular professional cleaning treatment.  The largest of them all, Shaw Industries, strongly recommends a hot water extraction; operated by a trained professional, on a regular basis.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that because your carpet looks clean, then it is clean.  Particles and debris can sit on the very base of the carpet, below the pile and the fibres.  Even if they were on top, most are invisible to the naked eye.  Unclean carpets could be the source of your (or your family’s) ill health, particularly respiratory problems like asthma and allergies.

Dust mites are the bane of every modern household.  With homes now being so well insulated and heated, our carpets have become the perfect place for dust mites to set up shop.  Feeding on human skin (which makes up 90% of dust!) these mites can live up to 4 months, laying up to 200 eggs in that time so it’s no surprise that the average household is home to more than 2 million mites.  The mites’ enzymes and droppings tend to stay airborne once released and cause household air to be more allergenic than that outdoors, despite what hay fever experts might say.  Infants exposed to dust mites in their youth can drastically increase their chances of developing asthma.

It’s not worth taking the risk with your carpets, have them cleaning by a professional carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning services.  Cleen Company offers a range of treatments for all types of carpets, click here to find out more or get in touch.