10 Tips to Clean a Leather Sofa
October 7, 2015Germs that are Prowling in your Carpet
October 22, 2015
- The term “carpet” derives from the Latin carpere, “to pluck,” probably because carpets were made from unraveled “plucked” fabric. “Carpet” has the same Latin root as carpe diem, literally “pluck/seize the day.”
- Each year, several pounds of soil can accumulate in and under a carpet.
- Although it is not known when the first carpets were produced, they were most likely being made centuries before Christ, probably by nomads in the heart of Central Asia as an attempt to insulate their tents. Over the centuries, carpet weaving was carried across Asia and into the Middle East by invading armies, traders, and migrating nomads.
- To remove gum from carpet, try pressing ice cubes against the gum until it becomes brittle and breaks off. Then use a spot remover to get rid of the remnants.
- A person sheds about 1.5 million skin flakes an hour, most of which becomes embedded in our carpets.
- Naphthalene is commonly found in carpet cleaners. In concentrated form, it is dangerous to breath and can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, and urinary irritation. It is a suspected carcinogen and can be toxic to children, infants, and pets.
- The five-second rule is a myth: bacteria can live after four weeks on carpet. And, thanks to “microbial adhesion,” germs such as the following are immediately transferred to food: Salmonella typhimurium, Campylobacter, and Salmonella enteritis, a nasty bacterium that causes horrible diarrhea and vomiting.
- To make a carpet brighter, sprinkle salt onto the carpet and let it stand for an hour before vacuuming it up. Salt is also effective in removing muddy footprints.
- Studies at Anderson Labs, international experts report that mice have dropped dead after breathing some new carpet fumes.
- Some modern carpets are made from artificial plastic fiber, but other carpets are made from knotted wool, which can house beetle grubs or “woolly bears.” Special chemicals in their stomachs convert wool into sugar so they will munch through carpet like cotton candy.
- Wall-to-wall carpeting is less healthy than smaller rugs because wall-to-wall carpets tend to be more permanent and harder-to-clean endpoints for moisture, chemicals, liquids, crumbs, and other spills that provide molds, mildew, yeasts, and bacteria (such as e-coli) with a rich and nearly continuous supply of nutrients.
- Dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments, eating dead skin cells and nesting in dust-collecting carpet. The residue that mites leave behind can mix with dust and become airborne, which may cause allergies.
- New carpets can be a source of chemical emissions. Customers should ask retailers about selecting lower-emitting carpet adhesive or about airing out the carpet before it is installed.
- The vacuum cleaner is based on Edmund Heming’s 1699 invention of a street-sweeping machine.
- To raise depressions in the carpet left by heavy furniture, hold a steam iron close enough for steam to reach the carpet, but don’t let the iron touch the carpet. Lift fibers by scraping them with edge of a coin or spoon.
- Club soda is effective in getting up fresh stains in carpet. Just pour some on the spot, let it set for a few seconds, and then sponge it up.
- Oriental carpets first became highly prized possessions in Europe during the Middle Ages when the crusaders likely returned home with them. The influence was very unilateral, with Europe hardly influencing the design of Oriental carpets.
- The floral designs known as palmettes on oriental carpets are mostly derived from the lotus or peony. In regions of the world where water was a precious commodity, it is perhaps not surprising that flowers and fauna were the symbol of paradise.
- All carpet should be professionally cleaned a minimum of every 12 to 18 months.
- Carcinogens in cigarettes may accumulate in household carpet. Because dogs and cats, not to mention children and infants, spend a great deal of time on the floor, they may be at risk for developing lung cancer in households with cigarette smokers.
- The caterpillar of the palm flower moth is fond of making its home in a deep cavity in a carpet. Regardless of whether the carpet fibers are natural or man-made, the caterpillar will use the fibers to make a cocoon.
- Microbiologists have identified air blown from a running vacuum cleaner as one of the five places in the home that has the highest numbers of germs. Other places include dish sponges, washing machines, bathroom toilets during a flush, and kitchen trash cans.
- The Norwalk virus or Norovirus (the virus that causes the stomach flu) can survive on an uncleaned carpet for a month or more.
- The swastika design has been traditionally a symbol of good fortune and can be found on carpets from America, Europe, India, and China.
- The oldest surviving carpet is the celebrated Pazyryk carpet, which is over 2,000 years old. It was found in the 1940s in a Scythian tomb in southern Siberia.
