Carpet Cleaning

The carpets are significant for allergy sufferers because they harbor a lot of dust, mold spores, bacteria and other allergens.

The problem with usual carpet cleaning is that it does not get to the material that is deep within the fabric of the carpet. This material might be too deep for a vacuum cleaner, for example. But it will quickly separate from the carpet and rise into the air when someone walks over the carpet for example, so the particles are hazardous no matter how deep in the carpet they are.

When to suspect the carpets as a source of allergy:

Although it might be difficult to narrow down the source of allergens to one rather than the other part of the house or piece of furniture, the carpets might be suspected whenever symptoms like wheezing and cough or congested nose and runny nose, whenever these symptoms are worse in rooms where there is a carpet, and then get better when the allergy sufferer is in a room with no carpets (a room with tile floors or hardwood floors).

Carpet tips for allergy sufferers:

1. Rules should be made to always take off shoes when coming from outside before walking on the carpet, this will greatly reduce the allergen burden.
   
2. Frequent vacuuming will prevent the dust and dirt from settling into deeper layers of the carpet.
   
3. Steam cleaners: These are devices that release water vapor into the carpet, this will mix with the material deep inside the carpet, and then this mixture is suctioned. However care must be taken with the soap added to the cleaner solution, because too much soap will leave the carpet sticky which causes it to attach more allergens subsequently.
   
4. U.V.Sterilizing lamps are useful as a substitute to exposure to the sun. The U.V.
   radiation will neutralize many harmful substances, but especially the house dust mite which is a major culprit behind allergies and asthma.
   
5. Finally, it might be worthwhile to remove all carpets from rooms where significant time is spent, especially the bedroom. A tile or hardwood floor might be a great help for an allergy or asthma sufferer.