True Facts About Your Carpet

You probably don’t spend much time considering your carpet. In the rush of your busy daily life, chances are you just walk on it without giving it a second thought. However, your carpet is actually its own ecosystem—teeming with life of all varieties. If you ever needed a reason to properly care for and deep clean your carpet, keep reading! These crazy, true carpet facts are all the proof you need to properly clean your carpet on a regular basis.
Your carpet Can Support Life
Your carpet is not just a desolate patch of fibers; on the contrary, researchers have discovered that it may harbor all sorts of life, and many types can live for more than four weeks in your carpet. For example, the virus that causes stomach issues (commonly called a “stomach bug”) can easily survive for longer than a month in your carpet. Additionally, many common forms of bacteria are able to live in the carpet for over a month at a time.
It probably comes as no surprise, then, to learn that your carpet is actually more infested with germs than a toilet seat. The average carpet contains roughly 4,000 times more germs than a toilet seat. All those fibers and nooks and crannies provide an excellent environment in which germs can hide, live, and thrive. In fact, your carpet is approximately seven times dirtier than the streets of your city.
Your carpet Collects Things
In addition to being an excellent place for germs to hide, your carpet tends to become the repository for other things—such as the 1.5 million skin flakes that you lose every hour. These flakes can provide a source of food for the things living in your carpet, extending their lifespan and increasing the need for cleaning.
A Clean carpet Can Help Your Allergies
However, a carpet that has been properly maintained and thoroughly cleaned can actually help you if you have allergies. This is because the fibers of the carpet can act as a type of filter and help trap allergens, mold spores, and other things that may irritate your sinuses. Of course it goes without saying that if your carpet is not properly cleaned and maintained, it becomes a storage place for these things and will eventually cause your allergy symptoms to be worse than they otherwise would be.
Because of these facts, experts recommend that your carpet be professionally cleaned on a yearly basis, and certainly no less frequently than every 18 months. Professional cleaning can reach deep into the carpet and clean out dirt and germs that a normal vacuum cleaner simply cannot reach.
Vacuuming Can Help Keep You in Shape
Speaking of running a vacuum cleaner, it’s a great way to keep your house in order and get a little bit of exercise at the same time. An average person in the 150-pound range will burn 125 calories during a half hour of vacuuming. This will of course be more if your vacuum is heavier and less if it is lighter.