HELP, THERE’S A MONSTER IN MY CARPET!

WHAT’S LURKING BENEATH YOUR CARPET?

A monster?

That’s right! Sometimes, you can't see it, you can’t smell it, and you can’t feel it, but make no mistake about it, it’s there! There, deeply embedded and invisibly blending into the fibers of your carpet, are monstrous germs and other dangerous substances lurking and waiting for the perfect opportunity to make you sick.

Who doesn’t love the feel of plush, fluffy carpet and the way that it caresses and warms our feet on cold winter mornings? It’s no wonder that It’s by far the popular choice in America for floor covering. After all, we can get down and roll around on it, play with our dogs, play with our babies and never have to worry about hitting our heads, or bruising our arms on those cold ceramic or hardwood floors– it’s the perfect playground! The problem is it’s also the perfect playground for harmful allergens, bacteria, microscopic pests, germs, organisms, viruses like the Norwalk virus and other hazardous material.

What’s lurking beneath those piles of plush?

Magnitudes of Malicious Germs

Just because something looks clean, don't let that deceive you into thinking that it is. Take a hospital for example. Most hospitals that I know have sparkling white floors, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking off my shoes to tiptoe through the tulips of the sick ward…Would you? I’m guessing probably not, because, if you’re like me, you associate hospitals with germs, sickness and disease. In fact, I bet that you would take every precaution while you are there to keep from getting sick, especially now that invisible culprit Covid looms in the air.

Why then, don't we take the same precautions when it comes to our personal living spaces? Well, for starters, our perception of our home is much different than that of a hospital. Our home is our safe space. We feel comfortable there. We keep a clean house. We vacuum our carpets, wipe away the dirt, and spray them with a little ‘Febreeze’; they look clean, and smell clean, so they must be clean, right? Guess again! According to Reader’s Digest, “about 200,000 bacteria live in every square inch of carpet”.

How can my carpet look so clean on the surface, but still be embedded with germs?

Point blank, your carpet is a filter. In fact, it's an excellent filter, which does its job so well that once it’s full, only professional carpet cleaning can remove the damaging bacteria and air pollutants that are deeply trapped way down inside of its fibers. While a good home vacuum is important and will do a pretty good job of surface cleaning, it just can’t tackle the military mission required to eradicate your carpet’s bunker of all the pollen, poop, fungi, chemicals, bacteria, bugs, cigarette smoke, tar, and residue that have been holing-up inside it’s beautiful, but beguiling strands of shag.

Alarming Allergens

Besides being totally grossed-out at the thought of microscopic creepy crawlers comfortably curling up to your toes, another major reason that you should consider having your beloved carpet professionally steam cleaned on a regular basis, is that, if you like millions of Americans, suffer from allergies. Your carpet is a free hostel for pesky environmental allergens that your shoes and feet invite into your home. Carpets, If not kept professionally cleaned, will constantly collect unwelcome irritants like mold, mildew, pollen, pet dander, smoke and insect debris, which when stirred up and breathed bring on allergic reactions such as:

● Runny nose

● Congestion

● Sneezing

● Red, itchy eyes

● Swollen eyes and/or lips

● Rash

● Wheezing

● Chest tightness

● Shortness of breath

● Coughing

If you’re someone whose body seems to escape suffering from environmental allergens, don’t for one moment think that you are in the clear. Exposure from VOC’s, chemicals such as formaldehyde that companies put in carpets in order to make them last longer, could still send you into a sneezing fit or worse:

● Eye, nose, and throat irritation

● Nausea

● Vomiting

● Nose Bleeds

● Shortness of Breath

● Headaches

● Fatigue

● Dizziness

Everybody loves that new carpet smell, but most of us aren't aware of the dangerous chemicals and harmful health risks that our beautiful NEW carpets contain. The scary thing is that these monstrous compounds can remain for months or even years after that alluring new smell wears off– that is, unless they are professionally removed! Whereas routine vacuuming is extremely important and will reduce the VOC’s, the only way to remove the danger of these chemicals altogether is to call a professional carpet cleaning service like Desert Rose. As an IICRC Certified Firm, Desert Rose Carpet Cleaning has powerful extraction tools, knowledge of certified techniques, and trained professionals that are needed to permanently remove these nasty substances, so that you can enjoy that carpet you just spent your hard-earned money on without the fear of it causing you to get sick.

Damaging Dirt, Grease and Grime

I must admit that I am someone who loves the way carpet looks and feels and the fact that my dirt doesn’t show up like a bunch of dust bunnies rolling around on a hardwood floor when last minute guests show up at the door, is a big bonus. But, when I think about the fact that according to experts such as Carpet and Rug Institute, one square foot of carpet can hold up to one pound of dirt before it becomes visible, I realize just how cringy my wall-to-wall carpet is– All I can say is Big Yikes!

There are many things grosser than a toilet seat, but according to Good Housekeeping, our carpets, which are ‘catch-alls’, are 4,000 times dirtier than one. Besides bacteria, mold, volatile organic compounds being collected in our carpet’s disgusting menagerie, are dust mites, dead skin cells, dust, insect feces, pet hair, pet urine, pet feces, insect husks, and many other types of alarming things clinging to the fibers which are not only disturbing but damaging to our health and to the life of our carpets. That’s right, the damaging effects of dirt, when allowed to build up, will drastically reduce the life of your carpet.

As a confirmed carpet lover, I’ve concluded that if I want to carefreely enjoy the luxury of a fully carpeted house, I’ll have to do more than make the occasional emergency carpet cleaning call when the red wine hits the floor. Now I know that it’s vital for my health and the health of my carpet to routinely have all my rugs and carpets professionally cleaned, after all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Learn more about our Carpet Cleaning Services and call today!