Detecting Mold, Fungus, Bacteria, and Dust Mites In Your Carpet

Maintaining a clean carpet and healthy home can be a lot of work. We have all experienced a tower of dirty dishes in the sink, or a trail of muddy footprints through the hall. It’s to be expected—simply living in a space creates clutter and grime.

  Like every other area in the home, carpet attracts a lot of dirt and wear. However, carpeting also holds contaminates that are invisible to the naked eye, such as mold spores, pet dander, dust mites, and bacteria. These contaminates can cause allergies, respiratory illness, and other health issues, even with regular vacuuming and deep cleans.  

Detect and Identify What Is Wrong With Your Carpet

Listed below are several hidden culprits that contribute to unhealthy carpets and how they arise.  

Mold or Fungus In Your Carpet

No matter how vigorously you clean your carpets, mold spores will inevitably sneak into the fibers and underlayment, especially if you live in a humid area. The more rainy days you have, the more chances moisture has to sink into your flooring, allowing the fungi and mold to take root. Like most nasty items in this list, mold often goes unnoticed and unmanaged. This particular mold doesn’t appear as green, fuzzy blotches like it does on a loaf of bread, but is usually white, cream, brown, or black. Deep cleaning will help clear fungi from new carpeting, but after a few years, replacing the flooring may be in order. Learn how to get rid of mold in carpet here.  

Skin Cell and Pet Dander In Your Carpet

As we all know, humans shed dead skin cells. What we may not know is the sheer amount of dead skin is released into our home every hour: 1.5 million skin flakes. That’s a lot of debris. Like fungi and mold, dead skin cells aren’t easily detected, even though they are constantly building up on the floor in our homes. Pets also release millions of dead skin flakes every hour as well as a lot of oil and hair. These allergens will work themselves into the carpet fibers. Vacuuming can keep skin and dander buildup at bay for a while, though the oils and continued wear will eventually create the need for professional cleaning or entirely new carpet. If your carpet is old, it may already be time to talk to a carpet professional about replacement. New carpet options include more durable fiber and long lasting underlayment, greatly improving the lifespan of your home’s flooring, as well as eliminating the health risks that lay inside the old carpet.  

Dust Mites In Your Carpet

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), over 10,000 dust mites can live in a 10 foot area of carpet. Old carpeting can hold even more if it hasn’t been properly cleaned, resulting in health and allergy risks such as asthma. New carpet gives you, the homeowner, a fresh start to regularly clean and maintain, which keeps your interior air pure and your family healthy.  

Bacteria or Viruses In Your Carpet

No one enjoys being sick. We’ve all heard the classic disinfectant tips like washing your hands, cleaning doorknobs, and the rest, but a lot of viruses can live comfortably in your carpet for weeks — even months! Allowing these health risks to stay in your home can greatly increase the frequency of your family coming down with the flu or a cold. While vacuuming and deep cleaning (especially professional cleaning) can wipe out most bacteria and viruses, perhaps it’s time to invest in new flooring for your home.  

Need Affordable Carpet Replacement?

Even if you clean religiously, most of these contaminants will appear in old and worn carpeting. In homes with pets, kids, or high foot traffic, carpet’s lifetime will be shortened and its resistance to dirt and grime will eventually disappear. At Carpet To Go, we provide affordable carpet replacement services to the greater Seattle area. Our team of flooring professionals will help you choose the right carpet for your own personal taste, style, and purpose, improving both the look and durability of your home’s flooring. For more information or to request a consultation, click here or call 206.382.1253 today.