Beautiful carpets are warm, stylish and comfortable. When they are fresh and clean, they are a luxurious extension of your design. However, without regular surface, deep-cleaning, and carpet sanitizing, carpets can easily turn into incubators for all sorts of unwanted guests in your home. Here’s the latest industry information about carpet cleaning germs in your carpets.
General Germ Tips
According to Great Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), viruses and bacteria can be spread from person to person or by touching unclean equipment or surfaces. To stop the spread of germs, focus your efforts on cleaning areas in the house where germs are more likely to spread, such as the kitchen and toilet. Dry surfaces such as worktops and chopping boards thoroughly after cleaning; dampness helps any remaining germs to survive and multiply.
The good news is that you don’t need fancy products; the cleaner you have under the sink right now will work. However, the cleaning aids, clothes, or mops must be germ-free or they’ll spread germs to other surfaces. As for carpet and soft furnishings, according to the NHS website, steam cleaning is effective against germs on carpets and furnishings. Curtains can be cleaned by laundering or disinfected by steam cleaning.
Existing Virus Research
Carpets filter air by trapping dirt, dust, and germs in their fibers. Carpeting is actually one of the most powerful natural air filters in your home, trapping dirt and germs from the air. Carpeting acts as a huge, fluffy pre-filter.
While not specific to the current virus, studies prove that norovirus can live for over 12 days in even regularly vacuumed carpeting. If your family seems particularly prone to this virus that causes stomach bugs, get carpets steam cleaned at a temperature of at least 158° F for five minutes or 212° F for one minute to completely kill off norovirus.
Therefore, research shows that even the most powerful vacuums struggle to extract dirt and germs from the base of carpet fibers. Vacuuming regularly is not a sufficient way to cope with germs trapped in carpets.
Specific to Covid-19
According to the CDC, there is much to learn about the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Based on what is currently known about COVID-19, spread from person to person of this virus happens most frequently among close contacts (within about 6 feet) via respiratory droplets. Evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials. Cleaning of visibly dirty surfaces followed by disinfection is a best practice measure for prevention in households and community settings.
Much is still unknown about the virus’s survivability on other types of surfaces like clothing, or carpeting. Although the World Health Organization had previously estimated the survival time on surfaces to be a “few hours to a few days” based on research on other coronaviruses, this is the first study by scientists at a federal laboratory to test the actual virus causing the current pandemic, SARS-CoV-2. The study is out in preprint form and expected to be published.
What Can You Do?
Make a habit of removing shoes when entering your home — or at least put down washable entry mats and runners and wash regularly. Invest in having carpet cleaning and extracting professionally at least once a year. In between professional cleaning and extraction, vacuum thoroughly at least once a week, using a high-quality machine with a motorized brush. You might also consider investing in a HEPA filtration type of vacuum or the type used by cleaning professionals. If you don’t want to be the one to do all that weekly vacuuming, Call our carpet cleaning experts for some help.
Professional Carpet Sanitizing & Cleaning
If you are worried about exposure to germs in your home, have a competent and experienced team come into deep clean and sanitize with professional equipment. Our carpet cleaning experts take every precaution to protect you and your home by using:
- Touchless payment process
- Technicians will wear PPE (personal protection equipment)
- Walk-off mats to protect your foyer
- A door guard to keep unwanted pests out and to maintain the temperature in your home
- Corner guards to protect the corners of your walls from chips and scratches
- Moving blankets to protect your hard surface floors
Chet’s has served the Metro Detroit area since 1986 and will continue to support your health and home. See Chet’s 14 Step Carpet Cleaning Process or contact us for a free consultation.