Carpets; almost everyone has them in their home. Whether it is installed carpeting throughout the home, or a rug in the hallway or living room, carpets play a part in almost all of our lives.
This week we decided we’d take a break from the importance of carpet cleaning and steps and tips for proper maintenance to share with you some fun facts about carpet.
- The oldest carpet in the world is known as the Pazyryk carpet. This carpet is over 2,000 years old, and was found in Siberia in a Scythian tomb in the 1940s.
- Your carpet can collect multiple pounds of dirt and soil within a single year! This shows the importance of weekly vacuuming and regular professional cleanings.
- The famous phrase, “to sweep under the run” was coined in the early 1960s.
- Microbiologists have identified five key areas of the home with the highest number of bacteria and germs: dish sponges, bathroom toilets during a flush, washing machines, kitchen trash cans, and air that is blown from a vacuum while it is cleaning.
- Bed bugs are able to live in more places than just beds. They have been known to live in wooden floorboards as well as in carpet fibers. Bed bugs are small, but are surprisingly fast for their size. They can be known to travel up to 100 feet per night to find a meal. Additionally, they will feast for about three to ten minutes. Most people don’t even know they are being bitten during this time.
- Our carpets carry a lot of us with them. Literally, the average person can shed around 1.5 million flakes of skin PER HOUR.
- Indoor air typically contains almost two times the amount of dust as outside air.
- Carpets can host around two thousand dust mites per ounce of carpet.
- Carpeting near heated ares, such as a fireplace, can host different creatures than other carpeted areas of the home. The most common you’ll find is known as a “firebrat.” They have long flexible bodies and can eat just about anything it wants.
- While most modern carpets are made from plastic and nylon fibers, other carpets, such as older carpets, are made from wool. Certain insects, such as beetle grubs (also known as “wooly bears”) have a chemical in their stomachs that converts wool into sugars, turning the carpet into basically a cotton candy for them.
- A quick way to brighten and spruce up a carpet is to sprinkle some salt onto the carpet, let it sit for an hour, then vacuum it back up. Salt can also be effective at removing dirty and muddy footprints.
- New carpets are known to have chemical fumes which can last for a few days. These fumes are so strong, that in certain studies mice have been known to drop dead on these carpets shortly after breathing in these fumes.
- Carpets of every kind should be professionally cleaned at least once every 6 to 12 months.
- The word “carpet” is derived from the Latin word carpere, which means “to pluck.” This is most likely because carpets back then were made from plucked fabrics. Carpere is also related to the Latin phrase, Carpe Diem, which literally translates to “pluck/seize the day.”
- In the early days of vacuums, Hoover vacuum cleaners were very difficult to sell, mainly because consumers often were reluctant to believe, and sometimes even insulted, when they were told that their carpets could harbor a large amount of dirt and dust.
Here at Clean Earth Restorations, we love knowing everything we possibly can about carpets, including fun facts and history. But what we love more is helping you make sure your carpet stays soft, clean, and healthy year round. Carpet maintenance, doesn’t have to be a chore, and we want to be here for you to make it quick, easy, and simple. For more information regarding carpet cleaning and upkeep techniques, or to schedule a professional cleaning, reach out to us at 619-284-4239, or contact us at cleanearthrestorations.com.
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