Carpets: in many spaces, an indispensable insulator, especially given our Kiwi climate. But while they may be a source of warmth and comfort in the office, they can also play host to a variety of microscopic undesirables. Given that we approach cleaning on a microscopic level, I thought to conduct a census of the communities under our feet and advise on how to evict these tiny tenants.
WHAT’S IN YOUR CARPET?
DUST
Carpets attract and retain dust; it is inherent to their structure. Their long, fibrous strands act as sponges for organic and inorganic particulates and regular foot traffic on carpeted floors can resuspend these settled particles, introducing them back into the air (and our precious lungs). One study found that an adult walking across a carpet can resuspend between 10 and 100 million particles per minute – as we delve further into what that dust may contain, it will become apparent why this is an issue.
MOULD
Mould, or fungus, grows in damp, warm environments where it has something to feed on. The structure of carpet fibres creates thermodynamic conditions conducive to the retention of water and the prevalence of dust provides ample nourishment for fungi. It is no wonder that recent studies have revealed fungal communities in carpets to be far more diverse than previously thought, when you consider that, to a fungus, a carpet seems like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Mould exposure causes an array of adverse health effects and exacerbates preexisting conditions, especially respiratory conditions.
BACTERIA
Being trampled upon by our shoes turns our carpets into a veritable bacteria-BnB, with guests ranging from Mr and Mrs E.coli to the Salmonellas to name a few. Worst of all, these visitors don’t leave a positive note in the guestbook but rather do grievous harm to your digestive system. Moreover, the bacteria in your carpets are resuspended into the air through human activity (one study showed that roughly 83% of airborne bacteria is due to dust resuspension) and thus must be dealt with.
DUST MITES
Dust mites, they feed on our dead skin cells and their excrement aggravates asthma (doesn’t sound like a
healthy relationship if you ask me). The high humidity of New Zealand makes dust mites even more prevalent. Our carpets not only act as a home for these microscopic mites but also as a reservoir for their allergenic
excrement. One in ten people live with a dust mite allergy – the symptoms of which include sleep disturbance, headaches, infections and, most dangerously, a worsening of asthma.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
This all sounds rather grim, and I’m sure some of you are already scrambling for your vacuum cleaners; while routine vacuuming does go a long way to reduce dust in carpets, it cannot kill these microscopic organisms that call the carpet home. You needn’t fret, this doesn’t mean you have to put up with these minuscule menaces – professional cleaning can drastically reduce their extent and effects.
My research brought me to a study wherein carpets were contaminated with Microsporum, a type of fungus, and cleaned using a variety of methods to test their efficacy. Chief among these methods was Hot Water Extraction. The study found that of the methods used, hot water extraction, especially when combined with a carpet pretreatment, was the most effective at eliminating detectable spores without leaving odour or discolouration, and was associated with the fastest drying time.
Hot water extraction involves the application of pressurised hot water to a carpeted floor, penetrating the fibres and breaking apart pollutants, which are then removed by a powerful vacuum. This process isn’t just effective against fungus; the hot water used can reach temperatures of 120 degrees Celsius, which is well above the 65 degrees and 55 degrees needed to kill bacteria and dust mites respectively.
Hot Water Extraction is a service that Kiwi Commercial Cleaning recommends to all our clients with a carpeted floor – we want to do all we can to ensure that your workplace is as safe and healthy as can be. If you want to learn more about our professional carpet cleaning service, you can check out our website or call 0508 522 532.
Would you tolerate a colleague that doesn’t get any work done but makes everyone in the office ill? Then you shouldn’t allow your carpets to become a breeding ground for mites and germs – get a quote for professional carpet cleaning from Kiwi Commercial Cleaning today.
Comments