Three Things in Your Carpet That Could Literally Make You Sick

As we get into the fall and winter seasons, it’s also the time of year when people start getting sick. There’s not much we can do about being in public, but keeping your home clean is essential for staying healthy. People are in their homes more often during the colder months, so now is the time to make sure that things are clean and your home a healthy atmosphere. What many people overlook is their carpeting, but here are three things living in it that could make you sick.

Dust and Critters
Scientists estimate that 43 million tons of dust settles over the United States each year, and a few pounds of that accumulates in our carpets. The problem might not so much be the dust as it is the mites that live in it, which can cause allergies to flare up. A single ounce of carpet dust can be a comfortable home for up to 2,000 dust mites. Vacuuming regularly with a high powered vacuum that has a quality filter can help.

Mold
Especially in geographic areas that experience high levels of humidity, carpets are also at risk for harboring mold which is a common allergen. You can help keep mold from growing in your carpet by not installing carpeting in rooms of the home that are usually damp like the bathroom or a finished basement (try tile or laminate in these rooms instead.

Viruses
We know that viruses can — and do — live on many of the hard surfaces we touch everyday, but the more hardy bugs can actually live in a carpet as well. For example, Norovirus (commonly called the Norwalk virus and known as the stomach flu) can live in an uncleaned carpet for up to a month. Home carpet cleaning products will probably do a sufficient job of killing these viruses, provided you clean the entire area of the carpet.

A good way to make sure that your home is clear of all three of the sickness-inducing carpet dwellers is to hire professional carpet cleaning services to clean all of the carpets in your home. This is something you could try to do yourself, but if it’s done improperly it may just add to the problem.

Do you have any tips for finding professional carpet cleaning companies? Let us know in the comments. More research here.