July 2018 - ProCleanersNJ Blog

5 Illness Associated with Dirty Carpet & Furniture

When we think about potential hazards at home, carpets and furniture are probably the last thing on our minds. Both carpets & furniture usually bring images of comfort, warmth and style. In reality, your carpets and furniture can pose significant health risks & illness if they’re not cleaned on a regular basis.

While harmless-looking on the surface, filthy rugs and furniture are actually a world of its own for microbes, fungi and other irritants that can make us ill.

Here’s a list of Top 5 Health Risks & Illness that you, pets and the people around you can experience if you let your carpets and furniture go uncleaned:

NOROVIRUS

Also known as the Norwalk virus is a very contagious virus that can infect anyone. Infection is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. This usually develops 12 to 48 hours after being exposed. Norovirus can become airborne, so even breathing in a room that someone has vomited in, as quickly as walking through that room, can cause you to have the virus, per the Department of Health. Norovirus can survive on your carpets and upholstered furniture for 4-6 weeks. Having your carpets & upholstery regularly clean can reduce the life and spread of the Norovirus.

CAMPYLOBACTER

This bacteria is mostly found during winter months in damp carpets and can cause campylobacteriosis (an infectious disease caused by eating or handling contaminated food or drinks) which can be lethal in people and animals with compromised immune systems. Traveling through the bloodstream, campylobacteriosis can cause bloody diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever. To kill this bacteria, is as simple as keeping your carpet clean and dry.

KAWASAKI SYNDROME

Named and discovered by Dr. T Kawasaki in 1967 is believed to be a rare illness caused when bacteria and chemical toxins in carpets enter the lungs. (Most that catch this disease are children, although adult cases have been reported) Symptoms include a high fever that typically lasts 5 to 10 days, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, a rash along with inflammation of the hands and soles of the feet. Red lips and eyes are additional symptoms.This illness can can cause physical disabilities, and even death. Although some studies connect Kawasaki syndrome to dirty carpets, its origin is still idiopathic.

MOLD ILLNESS

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 30 percent to 50 percent of all structures have damp conditions that could encourage the growth and spread of biological pollutants like mold. And that’s just for average climates; in warm, moist climates, this percentage is likely much higher.
When mold grows on your carpets, furniture, mattress portions of it are transferred to the indoor air you breathe.

According to the EPA, this can lead to symptoms such as:

Allergic reactions (e.g., rhinitis and dermatitis or skin rash)
Asthma
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Other immunologic effects

FACT – Only 55% of homeowners deep clean their carpets as often as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends, which is at least once every six months or more.

SALMONELLA

Most of us have heard of Salmonella, and think of it as a food-borne illness. Salmonella is a pathogen that can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Especially dangerous to young children and elderly adults. Although we associate it most often with contaminated food, Salmonella can be tracked into your home – and carpets – on the bottom of shoes. One study showed that 15 of 55 (27.2%) of vacuum cleaner bags from households with occupational exposure to Salmonella enterica were positive for the virus, as were 1 of 24 (4.2%) in households without known exposure.

Occupational exposure includes carpeting in such places as cattle farms with known salmonellosis in cattle, a salmonella research laboratory, or a veterinary clinic seeing an outbreak of salmonellosis. This is one good reason you should never eat food that falls on the floor, in your home or at any other location. Maintaining a clean, dry carpet is the best way to kill Salmonella, which only has a short life.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) RECOMMENDATION

FREQUENCY OF CARPET & UPHOLSTERY CLEANING

Professional carpet & upholstery cleaning and regular vacuuming is essential for keeping your house clean and healthy. Even if the surface looks harmless, a filthy carpet upholstered furniture can be the world for fungi, microbes, and other irritants. Call ProCleanersNJ Today 973-343-7627

How to Choose the Right Carpet Cleaning Company: 7 Tips

In today’s modern world the internet is most people’s go-to when looking to hire a service. You will find the internet saturated with carpet cleaning companies, however not all are reputable, trained, or honest. It is essential to be informed before making a decision on who to hire. Consider the following tips & avoid these 7 mistakes that consumers make before hiring a carpet cleaning company.

Mistake #1

Choosing a carpet cleaner based on equipment alone.

Sure proper equipment is necessary to do a good job, however if the operator is not properly trained the best equipment in the world won’t do what it is supposed to do. The best way to know that the carpet cleaner have been properly trained is to make sure the cleaner has been certified by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Before you choose a carpet cleaner, ask to see written proof of the company’s and the technician’s IICRC certification.

Mistake #2

Choosing a carpet cleaner based on low price.

Lowest price could mean a very costly mistake in three ways:

Low price is the bait that gets you to call & schedule the appointment. Once in your home, you are pressured into a more expensive job.
Lowest price can be for a ‘single-process’ Once explained, the customer is pressured to purchase the more expensive “dual/deluxe process ” (Illegal “bait-and-switch”).
Lowest price probably means the carpet cleaner has minimal skills, will be using the cheapest chemicals and inferior equipment – you could actually be paying them to ruin your carpets or soft furnishings!

Mistake #3

Choosing a carpet cleaner based on a single telephone call.

As with choosing any service provider it is always a good idea to check the credentials of the carpet cleaning company before you invite them into your home. How long have they been in business? Do they offer firm, written quotations prior to performing any services? Make sure to get references & read comments from current clients. These are all important considerations to avoid becoming the victim of high-pressure sales tactics when the technician steps into your home.

Mistake #4

Choosing a carpet cleaner that doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee.

Inexperienced cleaners have all kinds of reasons why they would never offer a guarantee: “What if the carpet is 20 years old and has permanent stains? – I’ll lose my shirt.

Experienced cleaners know that consumers aren’t unreasonable, generally. They have a pretty good idea which of their stains are permanent and they don’t expect a 20-year-old carpet that 4 kids and 10 pets were raised on will look like brand new because it was cleaned. They also know that a company that doesn’t offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee is not very confident of their ability to delight their clients with good old fashioned skill and service. Ask him if he offers a written guarantee and make sure it is included on the written quotation.

Mistake #5

Choosing a carpet cleaner who doesn’t use safe, natural cleaning products that are free of harsh chemicals.

Most carpet cleaners use a toxic chemicals, that according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can cause damage to the liver, central nervous system, and kidneys.

Some of the harmful ingredients that may be found in carpet cleaners include:

Pesticides
Disinfectants
Formaldehyde
Fragrances
Acids
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)

Besides being detrimental to the health of humans, these carpet cleaning chemicals can also be harmful to animals & the environment as well. When the toxins in the chemicals are exposed, they contaminate both air and water which harm the earth.

Mistake #6

Choosing a carpet cleaner who isn’t certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI)

I shudder to think what some of these guys are doing to people’s carpets by going out there with no formal training and trying to operate a truckmount that puts out 3 gallons of 200-degree water per minute at 500 psi. Even worse, trying to get a carpet clean with a rug doctor or portable that doesn’t have any power. (I see the results every day.)

Though seeing your operator’s certification (not his boss’s) doesn’t guarantee he will do a good job, not seeing it can mean just about anything.

Mistake #7:

Choosing a carpet cleaner who doesn’t use a truck-mounted, hot water extraction system.

Truck-mount systems are the Rolls Royces of carpet cleaners. The world’s largest carpet manufacturer Shaw industries “recommends the hot water extraction system, to maintain their carpet/products warranties. This system of cleaning extracts dirt and bacteria from your carpet fibers unlike other methods. Compared with portable machines, truck-mount systems use hotter water, higher pressure and stronger suction. All the way around, you get a much better job.

Please give us a call at (973)343-7627 if there is any additional information, questions or concerns. We look forward to being your carpet cleaning company of choice.

A-Z List: Germs, Crud, Critters Seeping in Carpet & Furniture

A List of Slime, Grime, and Livestock: That’s Seeping, Creeping & Galloping Through Your Carpet & Furniture.

You work hard to keep your home clean and free of dirt, bugs, and allergens. But did you know that even when your carpet looks clean and spot-free, they might actually be home to all sorts of unwanted guests?

Carpet & Furniture not only beautifies and insulate your homes from the cold, it also traps and filters dust, bacteria, debris and much more, which makes it a hotbed of bacteria. This can be problematic, as you can unknowingly introduce microorganism from the outdoors and into your carpet. But enough of that lets see that list.

A-Z LIST to the Slime, Grime, and Livestock
That’s Seeping, Creeping and Galloping Through Your Carpets & Furniture.

A – Asphalt
B – Bacteria
C – Car exhaust, Chemicals, Coffee
D – Dirt, Dust
E – Earth
F – Fertilizer, Food particles, Fungus
G – Gravel, Grease, Grit
H – Hair, Herbicides
I – Industrial waste
J – Jelly
K – Kool Aid
L – Lint
M – Milk, Mud
N – Nicotine
O – Orange juice
P – Pesticides, Pet stains, Pollen, Pollutants, Rock
S – Sand, Soda, Soil, Soot
T – Tar, Tobacco
S – Smoke
U – Urine
V – Vomit
Y – Yucky stuff

Plus, don’t forget living creatures, such as fleas, dust mites, and other parasites and germs that live, hide, and breed in your carpet & upholstery. Once they set up housekeeping, they multiply. (Will you help us? We’re trying to find at least one thing that’s in your carpet and furniture for every letter of the alphabet. So far, we don’t have anything for Q, W, X,or Z. If you can think of something that could be in your carpet or furniture that begins with these letters – or any other letters – please call, 973-343-7627 write, or e-mail us and we’ll consider including them in our next- consumer’s guide blog.)

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31