Keeping your carpet clean is not only important for aesthetic reasons, but also can impact your family’s health if it isn’t clean. Carpets and rugs can look clean to the naked eye while harboring dirt, dander, bacteria, and other irritants. When these irritants make it into the air you breathe, they can potentially cause health issues.
Dirty Carpets Can:
Trigger asthma or cause other respiratory illness or distress – Dirty carpets can foster a variety of things that can lead to respiratory distress issues or cause asthma to become more severe. Elements can get trapped in your carpeting, things such as dust mites, fungi spores, mold, dander, toxins, and other allergens. These can then get into the air as you walk around and can cause respiratory illness and trigger asthma attacks as well as other allergy related conditions.
Pet Germs – If you have pets, keeping your carpets clean is even more important for disease prevention. Pet urine and feces can cause a plethora of issues in your carpet. From carrying bacteria to creating smells like ammonia that can cause nose and lung irritation. pet waste can be particularly dangerous for small children who are more likely to be in frequent contact with dirty carpet. The dampness from pet accidents can also increase the risk of mold growth, so immediately treating affected areas is crucial. Fleas and ticks can also find their way into your home (and your carpet).
Weaken your immune system – Your immune system responds to bacteria and toxic substances by kicking into overdrive to fight and protect your body. If you are constantly exposed to an unclean environment, your immune system can be experiencing too much stress because it is in a constant battle with its environment. This can lead to you feeling run down and become sick more easily due to a weakened immune system.
Stomach Illness – Nothing good can come from a wet carpet. We carpet can cause mold, and presence of mold can cause a variety of health issues, but the presence of mycotoxins causes severe stomach irritation and infection. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, mold can go unseen for years and is very common especially in basement carpeting.
Cause skin irritation – Things such as dirt, bacteria, and fungus can become trapped in your carpet. It can work its way onto your skin or into the skin through cuts on your feet leading to skin conditions such as athlete’s foot, skin irritation, and rashes.
How do you protect yourself and your family against the health risks of dirty carpet?
Vacuuming and cleaning your carpets regularly do help. To prevent spreading any dirty carpet problems, make sure you’re using a vacuum with a HEPA filter that’s frequently cleaned and regularly change full bags.
Keep in mind that basic cleaning measures alone aren’t enough to ensure that your carpets aren’t a host to pollutants and toxins. It is recommended to have your carpets cleaned professionally every 6 to 12 months to protect against allergens and bacteria build up. This will ensure that your home is as clean and healthy as possible!