Do you or someone you know suffer from allergies or asthma? Does it seem like they get worse when the seasons change?
It’s said that perception is reality and in this case it is a true statement. As temperatures drop, people spend up to 90% more time indoors with the doors and windows closed.
All of that uncirculated air leads to an increase of indoor pollutants like pet dander, mold and smoke which can aggravate sinus conditions and trigger allergy flare ups. Your carpet can act as a filter to catch and trap these nasty irritants. The good news is that unlike bare floors, carpeting keeps most of the bad stuff from re-entering the breathing space.
But all of those allergens do need to be removed before the levels get too high. The easiest way to keep allergens and irritants to a minimum is to vacuum regularly with a good HEPA filter vacuum.
Make sure to make slow passes to give the vacuum cleaner plenty of time to do its work. If an option, adjust the machine’s height for your carpet level. Also remember to make several passes over areas of heavy traffic. Empty the filter on a regular basis but make sure you do it outdoors and into a sealed trash bag.
If you just dump the waste into the kitchen trash can, you could create a cloud of micro debris that goes right back into your home. Even though regular vacuuming can help, getting your carpets regularly cleaned by a competent professional can greatly reduce the sniffles and sneezes in your household.
Modern carpet cleaning companies use hot water extraction and special chemicals designed to kill mold and bacteria. They also use equipment that generally has greater suction and air-flow to pull all of the bad things in your carpet. After the cleaning, make sure that your carpets are completely dry before returning to use the spaces that were cleaned. You can get them drier a lot faster with your air conditioning running because the air is a lot drier.
So remember, for better health keep the vacuum running and get those carpets cleaned on a regular basis. Also try to keep it dry by quickly wiping up spills and waiting the appropriate amount of time after a professional cleaning.
