Improve Indoor Air Quality with Carpet Care
Did you know that one big contributor to the air quality in your home is right beneath your feet? Indoor air quality plays an important role in the health and comfort of your home. Proper carpet care can reduce the number of allergens and pollutants in the air you breathe.
Indicators of Poor Indoor Air Quality
Air quality has such an effect on our health that you can even find its daily rating right on your weather app. Poor air quality can contribute to many health concerns, including the following.
- Itchy eyes and skin
- Watery eyes
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Shallow breathing
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Respiratory infections
- Long-term lung problems
- Triggered allergies, COPD, or asthma attacks
Unfortunately, pollutants that lower outdoor air quality can also lower indoor air quality.
How Does Carpet Reduce Indoor Air Quality?
There’s not much we can do to change the standard of the air quality outdoors, but we do have some control over the air quality within our homes. Carpets are not typically made or laid using natural materials. The chemicals in your carpet, especially new carpet, can escape into the air in your home and affect the health of your household.
Carpet pile also gathers dust, dirt, pet dander, pet hair, mold, and mildew. These contents are then released into the air of your home when you walk across your carpet.
Carpet Care Tips for Improving Indoor Air Quality
Carpets have an enormous effect on the air quality inside your home. Carpet care is important to reduce the chemicals, allergens, and pollutants built up in your carpet. Let’s take a closer look at how you can improve indoor air quality through proper carpet care.
1. Go green.
No, we don’t mean that you have to install the color green carpet. When installing new carpet, search for “green” carpet made using less toxic substances. Many mass-produced carpets contain toxic synthetic materials that reduce your air quality. Look for pure materials without plastic, rubber, etc. to ensure your carpet quality does not drag down your air quality.
2. Tack your carpet down instead of gluing it.
If your carpet has already been installed, you obviously don’t have this option. However, if you are about to replace your carpet, tack it down instead of using glue. Many carpet glues contain toxic fumes and chemicals that get trapped in your carpet pile, releasing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the air.
3. Ventilate often.
Try to air out the room(s) where the new carpet is installed or old carpet has been cleaned. Open windows, run a few fans or dehumidifiers and try to stay out of that room for a day or two. Wet carpet must be dried as soon as possible to avoid mold and mildew growth, both harsh allergens that can negatively affect your health.
4. Use an air purifier.
An air purifier does exactly what the name suggests. It cleans the air, including airborne particles supplied by your carpet. It also helps ventilate your home, ensuring that pure air is circulating instead of polluted air.
5. Vacuum regularly.
To maintain older carpets, frequent vacuuming is an obvious way to help reduce the number of pollutants in your carpet. Vacuuming removes dust, dirt, and other particles located on your carpet’s surface. However, vacuuming only treats the surface of your carpet. Particularly if your carpet pile is long (closer to shag carpet), vacuuming does not penetrate to the pollutants that accumulate beneath the surface.
6. Schedule professional cleanings.
Regular professional cleaning ensures that contaminants lodged deep in your carpet get removed. In fact, yearly steam-cleaning is recommended to keep your carpet clean and your family healthy. You can steam-clean your carpet on your own with the help of some equipment, but we also recommend calling a professional to do a deep cleaning every 6-12 months.
Call Spectrum for a Professional Cleaning!
Spectrum Carpet Cleaning uses state-of-the-art equipment to deep-clean carpets and extract dirt and moisture trapped in the padding. We are located in Bristol, Indiana, and serve Elkhart County homeowners. Keep your home healthy and comfortable. Call today and schedule your carpet cleaning.