People don’t realize how dangerous carpets can be. We know why people love carpets so much, they make it very comfortable to walk around the house, but if you have a carpet you need to make sure that it is clean enough for you and your family. What you need to realize is that carpets are often the hotbed of small things which can harm the health of you and your family. Here at NYC Steam Cleaning we are experts in cleaning houses, and you will be surprised when you find out how many people tell us they feel healthier after getting their houses cleaned.
Discomfort at the Home
We keep running into people who never realized that their carpets had been making them sick. Do you have a runny nose or a slight cough often when you are at home? Do you feel slightly dizzy when you spend too much time in a room which has carpeting at your home? All of these are signs that your carpets are having a negative effect on your health. If you are choosing carpeting for your floors then make sure you know what you need to look out for.
Why Carpets can be Dangerous
Carpets are such a problem because of how they are. If one would want to intentionally make something which could trap harmful contaminants and release them alter the carpet would be the perfect design. Carpets are very different from clothes; the threads in your cloth are horizontal. Carpets are supposed to be comfortable for you to walk on, so there is a pad upon which there are bristles sticking out.
Dust Catchers
What this means is that carpets are perfect at trapping dust and other contaminants. As you walk over the carpet the bristle start curling up from the top, and become the perfect shape to catch dust. Normal vacuum cleaners can’t even remove the dirt that is stuck like this. When NYC Steam Cleaning experts clean the carpets the homeowners are surprised at how clean the carpet has become now. They thought that since they kept the carpet vacuumed it wouldn’t have much dust in it.
Dust Mites
Since carpets are so great at trapping dust, they are also a great home for dust mites. Dust mites don’t thrive on dust; they usually feed on the skin flakes and dead hair that falls onto the carpet. Again, the dead hair and skin flakes end up getting stuck in the carpet and create the perfect feeding ground for dust mites.
The worst part of having dust mites is that they are harmful even if you do not have an allergy to them. It has been seen that people without allergies develop allergies to dust mites with repeated exposure. So, even the people who appear healthy at first will end up being affected. They will feel mild flu like symptoms which will not go away. They will also feel like they are low on energy, because they will be breathing in the contaminants contained in the carpet.
Mold
Dust mites aren’t even the worst thing that can happen to a carpet. Carpets are also fantastic for mold growth. What mold needs more than anything else is moisture. Since carpets absorb water it is very easy for mold to grow in the carpets. Another problem is that, due to the way the carpets are made, the water takes a long time to dry out. Often there is a pad below the bristles to make the carpet softer to walk on. The water is absorbed by the lower part of the carpet.
If any mold growth starts in the lower part it is almost impossible to remove unless you get professional cleaning services. This is because the mold is no longer above the carpet; it is between two layers of the carpet, and will keep growing there and releasing its pores. The spores released by mold can result in allergies, and they often make people feel a bit lightheaded at well. Some types of mold can be toxic as well.
The Solution
What you need to do to is get your carpets cleaned professionally, by a company like us that will also disinfect your carpets. Disinfecting carpets means cleaning them from the inside out and using materials that kill harmful bacteria and mites inside your carpets. If you keep getting them disinfected after some months you will be fine. You can also talk to our carpet experts who will let you know how you can take care of your carpets at home.
Once you have gotten your carpets disinfected it is possible to keep them clean. Our experts will tell you the products to use and how often to use them. It depends on the type of carpets you have, so feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.