Contents
Top Tips for Child-Safe Carpet Cleaning Practices
Modern parents are only too aware of the importance of hygiene in the home. Maintaining a high standard of hygiene in family homes helps to reduce the number of pathogens to which young children are exposed, thereby reducing the risk of infection. Carpeting should always be included in domestic cleaning regimens because it can harbour dangerous pathogens and allergens but it is essential to follow child-safe carpet cleaning practices to maintain a safe environment for your kids. In this article, we discuss how to do that and look at some of the possible consequences of not following child-safe carpet cleaning practices.
Understanding the Risks of Traditional Carpet Cleaning
There is a plethora of DIY carpet cleaning products available today, most with bold claims about their effectiveness on the labels. However, the majority of these products are made with ingredients that can be harmful to the health of both adults and children such as:
- Industrial solvents
- Deodorisers
- Disinfectants
- Stain repellents
These chemical solutions contain what are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted as gases into the air. If that air happens to be the same air you and your children breathe at home every day, the potential for adverse health outcomes is clear. Allergic reactions and respiratory conditions top the list of health issues caused by VOCs.
Child-Safe Carpet Cleaning Practices
Fortunately, there are several alternative cleaning approaches for domestic carpets that are much more child-friendly than the commercial cleaning products discussed above:
- Baking Soda – A baking soda and warm water solution (250 g baking soda in 10 litres of water) can be sprayed onto old stains before agitating the area with a brush and leaving to dry.
- Vinegar – A solution of 1 tablespoon of vinegar in 1 litre of water can be tried as an alternative to the baking soda solution or in combination with it for particularly stubborn stains.
- Hydrogen Peroxide – Darker carpet stains can often be removed with a solution of hydrogen peroxide in water.
All of the above methods are child-safe cleaning practices that can be used to spot clean stained areas of your carpeting. However, for long-term cleanliness and to keep your carpets looking as good as new, occasional steam cleaning is advised as well.
Practical Tips for Everyday Carpet Care
In most cases, the easiest way to keep carpets clean and safe for children is to employ a combination of regular cleaning, DIY spot cleaning and professional steam cleaning.
- Regular Cleaning – Vacuuming your carpets twice every week, or more often if necessary, will help to remove the majority of fine particles that make their way into the pile.
- Spot Cleaning – Whenever you spill something on your carpeting or discover an old stain, use one of the previously mentioned methods to clean the affected area.
- Professional Steam Cleaning – Paying a local specialist to deep clean your carpets once every year or two will ensure that deeply embedded dirt is removed from the pile.
If you choose a reputable service provider to steam clean your carpets and attend to them yourself in between visits, it should be quite easy to keep them clean and safe for your children.
Deep Cleaning Carpets Without Chemicals
Once every couple of years, or more frequently if your home experiences a lot of foot traffic, professional steam cleaning of your carpeting is recommended. It is perfectly safe for children as long as you choose a reputable service provider that offers the following benefits:
- Removes Trapped Pollutants – The superheated steam lifts deeply embedded particles of dirt out of carpet fibres, leaving them fresh and clean.
- Eradicates Mould Spores – Steam carpet cleaners generate steam of a temperature that will kill mould spores in your carpet pile.
- Removes Dust Mites – Superheated steam also kills dust mites with ease.
For all of these reasons, it is well worth having your carpets professionally cleaned every couple of years.
Selecting Professional Carpet Cleaning Services
In our experience, the best way to find out whether a certain company employs child-safe carpet cleaning practices is to ask directly. Most companies use detergent in addition to superheated steam when cleaning domestic carpeting and it is the nature of the detergent they use that determines whether their service can be considered child-safe.
If you need to narrow down your choice before starting to contact local steam cleaning companies, focus on those that state they use eco-friendly chemicals and request material safety data sheets for confirmation if necessary.
Conclusion
If you want to make sure that your carpets do not pose a danger to your children’s health, it is important to:
- Avoid using any commercial cleaning solutions containing VOCs.
- Vacuum all carpeted areas at least twice a week
- Spot treat stains with one or more of the recommended child-safe carpet cleaning practices.
- Have all your carpeting steam cleaned by reputable professionals once every couple of years.
For information about our child-safe carpet cleaning services in Perth, WA, please feel free to contact us by phone or email.