Carpet Cleaning for Cleaner Indoor Air
Not many people equate clean carpets with cleaner indoor air, however, it’s actually gravity and the trapping of particles that has the positive affect on your indoor air quality.
Cleaning your carpets, in most cases, removes what’s trapped inside them and keeps the air clean. Therefore, gravity, carpets and carpet cleaning have a very positive affect on the end result of your indoor air quality. Gravity causes particles in your home to fall to the floor. With carpets and particles are being trapped inside them.
Carpet cleaning, with professional cleaners, effectively removes dust and allergens from the carpet and helps to keep us from breathing them into our lungs.
Asthma and Allergies
A misunderstanding is that people with asthma and allergies should avoid carpet in the home. Actually, a properly cleaned carpet will not have a negative affect on asthma and there may even be advantages. Studies have shown that properly cleaned carpets may help reduce particles and dust and is a suitable flooring choice for those dealing with asthma and allergies as long as the carpets are cleaned properly.
Mold and VOC Misperceptions
When a carpet is kept clean and dry, mold simply cannot grow on synthetic fibers. Carpet is recognized as one of the lowest emitters of volatile organic compounds among various flooring choices and interior finishes. The Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality Standard even has a standard for carpets that relates to indoor air quality.
Carpet Cleaning and Indoor Air Quality
Without question, people spend the majority of their time indoors. However, the indoor air quality of their workplace or home is not at the fore front of most people’s minds.
Indoor Air Quality is Important!
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air pollution can be higher than the outside air. Indoor air quality can vary greatly, but we all know that a clean house results in higher indoor air quality.
It makes you wonder what you’re breathing?
Indoor air pollution can create a greater health risk than the exposure to outdoor air pollution. With energy concerns, the risk may even increase. Due to higher energy costs, we are constructing more tightly sealed buildings.
Many people are investing in heating efficiency (less airflow from the outside) even with an older home. Also, people are now using more combustibles in the living area with wood burning and pellet burning stoves being used to supplement heating costs.
The flip side to this greater energy efficiency is reduced ventilation rates and wood burning stoves add particles to the air.
Many people have pets and this can increase the particle level of indoor air as well.
Finally, the pace of living today often results in people skipping the thorough cleaning that is needed to improve indoor air quality.
The question is what can be done about it?
Open the Windows
We need fresh air. Periodically open the windows to help bring in and circulate fresh air.
Clean Your Vents
If you have a vent system in your home, then make sure the vents are kept clean and replace air filters when needed.
Clean your furnace and a/c filters routinely
One of the best things you can for your entire home is making sure that your furnace and a/c filters are cleaned routinely. Once a month is the norm however for larger homes, sometimes they need to be changed every 2 to 3 weeks. Although filters aren’t cheap, depending on what you get, neither are medical bills for upper respiratory or asthma issues. You simply cannot put a price on your health. Changing your filters on a routine basis ensures that you are doing your best to minimize the amount of dust and particles circulating through your vents and back into your home and carpets.
Clean your Carpets
If you have carpets, then know that a carpet acts like a giant filter which traps and collects all types of indoor air pollutants thus preventing these trapped pollutants from returning to the breathing zone. This is great!
However, eventually your “carpet-filters” get filled with dry soil and air borne pollutants and stops working efficiently, much like your furnace filter or the air filter in your car.
Carpet cleaning is just like cleaning the air filters in other items. Improve your indoor air quality by cleaning your carpets and removing harmful pollutants. Clean your carpets for appearance and for your health. Having your carpets regularly cleaned does more than improve the appearance of the carpet. It provides you with a healthier indoor environment.
Give Ultra Clean a call at 715-386-5900. We can clean your carpets with a regular vacuum cleaning schedule and do a carpet deep clean once or twice a year.
