Does Taking Off My Shoes Really Keep Germs Away From My Rug? – Prescott Valley AZ
If you read Prescott’s Daily Courier a while back, you may have caught the article written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar of Annie’s Mailbox on Saturday, April 16th . It was discussed whether or not to remove your shoes before entering a home to avoid bringing in outside soil and germs.
I’ve always said that it is far more important to have your rug really cleaned than having a “clean looking” rug – not just to keep your rug looking nice, but also for the health of you and your family! This article really brought that point home.
Here are several studies to prove my case:
The University of Arizona conducted a study and found the following:
Shoes carry nine different species of bacteria.
Many of these can cause infections in our stomachs, eyes, and lungs.
The University of Houston also did a study that showed:
39% of shoes carried the bacteria C.diff (you can learn more about this bacteria from various medical websites like Web M.D.)
Shoes are a major carrier of these various bacteria, and germs also live longer on shoes than any other service.
Obviously, these germs are easily transferred from your shoes onto both the tile floors and certainly the carpeting in your home. You've heard of the buck stops here; well in this case, it's the "germ" stops here! Due to these “traveling” germs the benefits of cleaning your rugs regularly is far beyond the aesthetic value and a matter of your family’s health!
While completely avoiding germs is impossible and being a “germ freak” isn’t exactly a reasonable solution, a good cleaning regime will help you and your family stay healthier! Remember that while you clean the hard surface floors (wood and tile), good cleaning habits must also include getting your area rugs professionally cleaned. This will greatly help the overall healthy environment of your home, regardless of wearing shoes in your home or not.
Does this make rugs a haven for germs and therefore harmful for our health?
Not really – because looking at this from a broader, more balanced perspective and understand that rugs do act as a great filter to a home, this filter can actually help to catch soil and germs by trapping those germs and dirt in the rug fibers. This being the case, then of course getting your area rugs professionally cleaned is the logical next step!
Life happens and life isn’t germ free! Keep in mind that rugs spend their lives on floors and they need to be properly cleaned by a professional cleaner like Arizona Oriental frequently to ensure the health of the rug and your home. How frequent this needs to be done depends on how active your lifestyle and family are, but it should be done once every one to two years. If you have sick family members or pets, more frequent cleaning will be necessary.
Till next time, enjoy your beautiful art for your floor and remember a clean rug is a rug that can last you a lifetime!
Arizona Oriental & Specialty Rug Care serves Prescott Valley, Prescott, Sedona and much of the Northern Arizona areas. We meet the highest standards in professional cleaning of area rugs with rug wash specialists having earned the highest training, including certification as WOOLSAFE FIBRE CARE SPECIALISTS through the WOOLSAFE ORGANISATION. Such extraordinary certification ensures the area rugs of our client’s receive the utmost in care.
Call us for additional information on cleaning area rugs for a healthier home and quotes at 928-445-1718, visit our website at www.ArizonaOriental.com, or stop by Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at our rug washing facility at 565 EZ Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (pick-up and delivery also available).
Don't forget our pets track in tons of dirt and germs!
