Carpet Cleaning and Allergies: Everything to Know

Allergies and Carpet

Carpets and rugs are nothing short of giant filters – trapping bacteria and allergens and making sure they don’t pollute the indoor air. However, similar to air filters, your carpets also reach the end of their capacity from time to time. They have to be properly cleaned to ensure they can keep trapping the particulates in the air. This becomes even more important when you consider the fact that at least one in five Australians have allergies or asthma.

So, are you or your family members suffering from allergies as well? A well known and reputed melbourne carpet cleaning company shared the following tips about carpet cleaning that you need to keep in mind.

Hot water extraction or dry cleaning: Which is the best for people with allergies?

In terms of carpet cleaning, one of the first decisions that you need to make if you or someone in your family has allergies is whether to go for hot water extraction or dry cleaning.

Now, both these methods have their pros and cons, but one certainly wins over the other when it comes to homeowners with allergies. Let’s consider both the methods individually.

Pros and cons of hot water extraction

Hot water extraction is a relatively new method to clean carpets and it’s a pretty efficient one. The cleaners use efficient equipment that gets the job done fast and even the cost of chemicals is pretty low for them. But what about the allergens?

For anyone allergic to dust mites or Mold, the relative humidity in the house has to be less than fifty percent to avoid any growth of unwanted microorganisms.

Dust mites and Mold grow in damp areas, and this method leaves dampness in the carpet fibres. Mold spores might grow in half a day, and it takes less than a day to grow a colony.

It might even make the padding under the carpet damp as well. The covered padding doesn’t dry out fast enough, which further breeds mildew and Mold.

Pros and cons of dry cleaning

Dry cleaning your carpets is not just about vacuum cleaning it. The process ensures deep cleaning by using compound cleaning agents that pre-treat the fibres and break down dirt before machine cleaning.

The cleaning agents get buffed or brushed in the carpet before being removed at the time of cleaning. It lifts up all the oils, dirt, and sediments that are embedded in the fibres, without leaving any residues or dampness. When done right, it will leave your carpets free of allergens like dust mites and Mold for at least six months.

Of course, dry cleaning has to be done in the right way. If it is not done by expert professionals, all the dirt will not be sucked out of the carpet and there will be a harmful residue left on the surface of the carpet.

Three benefits of clean carpets for allergy sufferers

Now that you know about the pros and cons of the two popular carpet cleaning methods, it is time to take a look at the benefits of clean carpets for allergy sufferers.

• Removing Allergens

People who suffer from different allergies and conditions like asthma are highly impacted by the number of allergens trapped in the home. It can trigger a major attack at any time. Thus, regular carpet cleaning is necessary to maintain the health of the family.

• Removing Bacteria

The presence of bacteria is another major concern as an average home has nearly 200,000 bacteria present in each square inch of a carpet. When the bacteria start building up, the bacteria present in the carpet gets shaken up and circulates the air that your family breathes. So, cleaning your carpet is compulsory in this case.

• Improving Indoor Air Quality

The combined attack of ever-growing bacteria and a wide-range of allergens can affect the indoor air quality, especially for the people suffering from allergies or breathing problems. So, if the aim is to improve indoor air quality, cleaning your carpet is one of the starting points.

Top three tips for allergy sufferers

If you or someone in your home suffers from allergies, there are a few things you need to remember about cleaning your carpets. So, follow these three tips to keep your home safe from allergens:

• Vacuuming regularly

You need to vacuum your carpet on a regular basis. Based on the space, it’s better to vacuum at least once a week. If you are planning to buy a vacuum cleaner, make sure it has a HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter that captures pollen and dust mites.

Otherwise, the vacuumed dust will go back in the air. Also, remember to periodically change the HEPA filter because their effectiveness will reduce with regular usage.

• Clean spills immediately

Your carpets should not stay wet for over 24 hours. It will let mildew and Mould grow under the carpet, making the allergies flare.

So, right after any spillage, you need to spot dry that area by blotting, instead of letting the spill spread more. Also, it will ensure that humidity does not sips down through the carpet to cause more mildew and damage.

If you can’t control the moisture, get in touch with the professional carpet cleaners. Their suction machines will help to reverse the damage.

• Remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) refer to a fairly large group of chemicals present in several products used to build and maintain homes. The VOCs get emitted by different products like paints, cleaning solutions, and heavy plastic products.

Cleaning and maintenance of the carpets help in the removal of the VOCs trapped in the carpet fibres and in the vacuum. These are gases that can make allergies flare up badly. You can seek professional help for a complete removal of VOCs from your carpets.

The endnote

And that’s all! Now you know how to clean the carpets the right way to keep your home free from allergens. Go ahead and apply the facts that you learned to clean carpets the right way.