Carpet Cleaning and Your Health

A clean carpet does a lot more than simply look nice.

Carpet cleanliness can affect indoor air quality. Indoor air quality, a growing government and customer concern, is forcing contract cleaners to focus on health as well as appearance. When properly maintained, carpet can improve indoor air quality, acting as a filter to hold soil, debris and other contaminants, and preventing them from becoming airborne. Routine carpet maintenance includes controlling the spread of dirt with entry mats, vacuuming with proper filtration and micro filter bags, and immediate spot removal. Regular vacuuming helps keep indoor air cleaner and extends carpet life. Vacuums have improved via stronger and better suction and use of filters that trap dirt down to 0.3 micron (a micron is one-millionth of a meter). It is equally important to regularly clean or replace vacuum filters to ensure efficiency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also recognizes the effect of regular carpet cleaning on indoor air. Cleaning includes regularly scheduled wet cleaning or extraction for total soil removal. Extraction cleaning is the most effective way to remove soil. The accompanying chart lists EPA recommendations on carpet cleaning frequency based on environmental conditions.

* Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(From "Focus on Contracting," Tom Bach, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, June 1997

How often should you have your carpets cleaned?

Based on the following guidelines, probably much more often than you do. If you are in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Illinois, make sure that you're looking at the last row, "Extreme Cold Weather" the fact that we spend up to 6 months with little or no fresh air moving through the house can have a drastic effect on cleanliness.

Recomended Cleaning Frequency Guidelines
			Residential				Office Building		Commercial
Environment	Day Care Center	Nursing Homes	2 persons, non-smoking	2 persons, with smoking	young children	young children with pets	ground floor	higher floors	retail shops, banks
Normal	2 weeks	1 month	6-12 months	4 months	6 months	3-6 months	3-6 months	6-12 months	3-6 months
Extreme Cold Weather Climates	2 weeks	1 month	4-6 months	3 months	3 months	2 months	2-6 months	3-9 months	2 months

If after looking through this chart you realize you're a bit overdue for your carpet cleaning, call the numbers below or request a quote from our Twin Cities or Chicago quote request forms.

 

Request a Quote / Schedule an Appointment
In the Twin Cities: Call: 651-768-0020 Email: brooke@wgcleaning.com		In the Chicago Metro: Call: 847-740-7000 Email: mandi@wgcleaning.com