Your Carpet Is Probably Dirtier Than Your Toilet Seat

Author Melanie Day

November 1st, 2021 12:49 PM

When was the last time you cleaned your carpet? Not just vacuumed but deep cleaned. If you’re anything like me it’s probably been a while. Well that carpet, it’s probably dirtier than your toilet seat or your bathroom. And if you’re like most people you probably clean that bathroom a lot more often. And while you might think keeping your carpets clean is as simple as vacuuming and the occasional shampooing or steaming it’s not. The American Lung Association actually does not recommend carpet as the primary flooring in your home. But if you do have it that carpet, they say it should be vacuumed three times a week with a HEPA filter to truly be safe.

But is this overkill? Carpet can’t really be that gross can it? Well, HomeAdvisor wanted to find out. So they analyzed the carpets in three different homes to see exactly what’s lying beneath the surface and if that carpet is really dirtier than a toilet seat.

Key Findings

• Even in regularly cleaned floors, skin cells and fungal spores can build up enough to be visible in vacuumed dust samples
• The germy content of carpets can vary widely, but our samples contained more than thirty times as many germs as a refrigerator door handle and more than sixteen times as many germs as a cellphone
• About one in four people said they’d eat food that fell on the floor with little to no hesitation, regardless of whether the floor was carpeted

• What’s Hiding in Your Carpet?

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  there are three things you’ll likely find hidden within any carpet, no matter how clean it may appear: Human hair (comprising 36% of samples) Cellulose fibers (30%) Amorphous debris (30%) Human hair is easy enough to decode (albeit a bit gross). Cellulose fibers are naturally occurring and commonly found in cotton as well as leaves and vegetables. Amorphous solids are particles without an ordered internal structure, including glass, rubber, and plastic. While less common, carpet samples also turned out to contain roughly 2% human skin cells, which should be another consideration before laying down on your carpet or following the five-second rule for dropped food.

• Under a Microscope

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  The average carpet had over 91,000 CFUs (or colony-forming units) of germs per gram of dust, according to our analysis, consisting of 95% bacteria, including bacillus, gram-negative rods and gram-positive cocci. Here’s a quick breakdown of each: Bacillus: Linked to a variety of infections, including food poisoning Gram-negative rods: Fungus that can grow anywhere on the body, including under fingernails. Most commonly associated with skin infections. Gram-positive cocci: Commonly linked to skin infections and illnesses, such as pneumonia and blood poisoning For additional context, that means the average carpet has over 30 times more germs than a kitchen refrigerator handle, 16 times more germs than the average cellphone and nearly six times more germs than a toilet seat.

• In Need of a Deep Clean?

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  Not only are carpets dirty, but the issue may be compounded if you aren’t cleaning them regularly. According to the American Lung Association, every three days should be the standard, but how often are homeowners really heeding that recommendation? On average, those surveyed reported going 22 days without sweeping or vacuuming their bedroom floors, followed by 17 days in common areas and 16 days in the kitchen.

Read the full study here

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Author Melanie Day

Category:

• Human Interest
• Lifestyle
• Local
• Power 98

Tags:

carpet dirty,clean,Local