Carpets and Allergies – A Close Connection

Allergies can be very painful - only those who suffer from them know about it. There are many things that can cause an allergic reaction in a person, of which dust is the most common. Whether in a home or an office, heavy furnishings like carpets and curtains tend to attract a lot of dust and should be cleaned regularly to prevent allergies. If neglected, dust allergies can lead to severe respiratory issues that can be fatal.

1. When the carpet cannot be removed
When you want a carpet to adorn your home, but don't want it to be the cause of allergies to the residents, it is important to get it cleaned every other day or even week. Carpets are made of thick material, sometimes of wool, which easily attract mites and a lot of dust. The only way to clean carpets without having to wash them, which is a mighty task, is to vacuum them. Use the vacuum up and down in one particular direction the carpet slowly. Do it slowly enough to give the vacuum enough time to pull in the dust particles completely.

2. Professional cleaning for best results
While regular vacuuming can help prevent over accumulation of dust and dirt, it doesn't come anywhere close to professional cleaning. Professional carpet cleaning services not only get rid of dust particles, but also eliminate any stains and hard to remove bacteria or fungi that can cause allergies in some. Professional carpet cleaners use highly powerful cleaning agents to get rid of the mites in the carpet. Some also use organic cleaning agents that are safe for both pets as well as kids. If you have kids or pets at home, make sure you tell the carpet cleaning company to use only organic cleaners or only vacuum to clean the carpet.
If your carpet is made of cotton, you can even wash it using safe detergents if needed.

Dry vs. Steam Carpet Cleaning Methods

Despite all your efforts to keep your carpet clean, dirt-free and away from the grime, you may still have stains on your carpet. Now is the time, to decide whether you want to clean your carpets or get the help of a professional carpet cleaning service. How will you decide which cleaning method will be the best for you? Especially when both dry and steam methods are popular for cleaning carpets, which one has an advantage over the other? Let's find out.
Method of cleaning
In the dry vs steam cleaning debate, it is crucial to understand that actually, just steam does not clean the carpets while using steam cleaning method. Instead, commercial machines are used for boiling water that give off steam, which is then used with detergent (acidic for woolen or natural carpets and alkaline for synthetic carpets) to activate cleaning action on the stains. Later, a wet-vac is often used to suck up water from the floor.
The other method, that is dry cleaning, makes use of some dry chemicals to fight the stains in order to break down any soil they find. The method is still called dry cleaning, even when cleaning experts use some amount of moisture as an application solution to go along with the dry compounds put-upon in the process. Dry cleaning saves a lot of your time and floors can be ready to walk over in almost no time after the cleaning.
Steam or dry?
If steam cleaning is your pick, you will need some hot water, a machine probably rented) and detergent to start with the cleaning. Remember, you will still have to wait more than 10-15 hours to start walking on the carpet again. Also, some stains that were grounded deep inside will reappear after a few days, since some difficult stains like chemical and pet stains require multiple cleaning treatments or just cannot be dealt with.
Dry cleaning, on the other hand, comes with the benefit of no waiting time and impressive cleaning with the use of chemical solutions and cleansing agents. However, sometimes these chemicals can be harsh on your carpet and may have strong odors.