Carpets can add a touch of style to any room. A beautiful rug can pull the space together. And these types of flooring can also add comfort, color, and warmth to a property.
However, there are a surprising number of ways a carpet can impact the health of a family living in the home. Knowing how to take care of your carpet is essential to keeping it healthy, but also to keep your health tip-top as well.
Can Your Carpet Affect Your Health?
It may seem strange to think something so innocuous and commonplace as a carpet could affect anyone’s physical health. Nevertheless, a poorly treated carpet can harbor many unpleasant ways that damage not only physical health but also mental wellness in some ways.
What Areas Of Health Can An Unclean Carpet Affect?
Some ways that an unclean carpet can affect a person’s health are not too common. Due to the materials used in carpets and volatile organic compounds, some people can suffer from contact dermatitis. This affects people who are highly sensitive to these materials.
However, there are some other ways that carpets and rugs can present health dangers in the home. Below are some health dangers that can be lurking in your lovely carpet.
Dust Mites
These little creatures resemble insects, but they are barely visible to the naked eye. Hundreds of thousands of these creatures can be living in the furniture of a home.
Regardless of their size, they can make a big impact on health. The American Lung Association reports that ongoing exposure to dust mites can dramatically affect health. They can cause problems for anyone with asthma, and they can cause allergic reactions in others. Some individuals can be very sensitive to dust mites and suffer from irritations and allergies.
Mold
The carpet might not seem the most obvious place to develop mold, but it can and does happen. Mold can be harmful to those who already suffer from asthma and can cause reactions in others.
The Environmental Protection Agency has published on the link between mold and health extensively. Symptoms in individuals who are sensitive to mold can include skin rashes, runny noses, and red eyes.
Allergens
One of the biggest problems with carpets not being cleaned is that they then make great homes for allergens and toxins. Dust mites like to munch on pet and human dander.
Dander is dead skin cells that people and pets shed. It is normal to shed dead skin cells, and they make great food for dust mites. However, pet dander can also trigger allergies in some people.
Apart from the above, other allergens can also harm your children’s and your health. Pollen is a common allergen that triggers hay fever and other reactions. Dust, too, can cause problems for anyone with asthma.
All of these allergens can become trapped in the carpet’s weave. It can be difficult to keep carpets clean when living with kids, but it is essential for looking after their health.
Grime And Bacteria
Apart from allergens and dust mites, your carpet can also contain bacteria from everyday use. Children and pets running around, food being dropped, or drinks spilled. All of this leads to bacteria building up in the fibers.
What Can You Change To Improve The Health Of Your Carpet And Your Family?
Many experts recommend using a HEPA vacuum to clean the carpet far more effectively than a standard one. Air purifiers can be useful in the summer months for reducing pollen.
Indeed, air purifiers can help with pet and human dander also. Removing these allergens at the source will stop much of them from ever reaching the carpet.
To get carpets and rugs clean, though, they need to be steam cleaned. Ideally, carpets should be vacuumed between 1 and 3 times a week depending on who and what lives in your home.
Then a deeper clean should be performed. Local London carpet cleaning LTD will perform a steam cleaner that can remove deep-seated grime and bacteria. A professional firm will know how to get rid of allergens and dust mites, and they will help to extend your carpet’s life.
Cleaning a carpet doesn’t just help your health; it helps the rug too. Plus, it will simply look better from being cleaned.
Conclusion
Illness can put a strain on a parent, and long-term ailments can also cause stress to the patient. Therefore, it isn’t essential to clean a carpet only for physical health. Mental wellness can be affected too.
There are other advantages to getting regular steam clean. Your carpet will survive longer, it will look better, and it will smell clean too. Leaving a carpet to build up grime will dull its pattern and color, and odors can build up.
Most importantly, though, looking after your carpet means you are helping to look after your family too.
