Can You Disinfect My Carpets?

Many are finding themselves at home more due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak which has also led to many taking time to deep clean their homes. We know you’re wondering about some of the harder to clean areas such as your carpets, so here’s our response on how to clean them. 

Why you can’t disinfect carpets 

In short, you cannot disinfect soft goods. Don’t waste your money on any gimmicky products. We see many customers who have purchased such products after being misled, and it often creates more issues such as oversaturating the carpets with liquid or even bleaching them. 

Beware of the buzz words used to sell products such as “clean and disinfect.†You cannot disinfect by true definition. To sanitize means “to make more acceptable by removing unpleasant or undesired features.†To disinfect is “to free from infection especially by destroying harmful microorganisms.†It is not possible to kill ALL microorganisms on a soft surface like upholstery, carpets, or rugs.  

How to sanitize carpets 

However, this doesn’t mean you should just give up. (Some of you that hate cleaning might wish that was true though!)  It is possible to sanitize carpets in a safe and effective manner. 

For example, consider the dingy grout we have all seen before in commercial bathrooms and restaurants. These hard to clean crevices are often filled with bacteria-laden dirt. 

If you’ve even tried to clean grout yourself, you know how difficult it can be. All the bleach in the world won’t clean the grout if at first you don’t remove the unhealthy soils.  

So what do you do? You must clean the grout through high-performance hot water extraction. The same goes for rugs and carpets. The amazing fact about it is that deep cleaning has always been a green activity! It provides the ability to remove unwanted matter (soils, oils, bacteria, molds, allergens) from the indoor environment.

Should I pay extra for sanitizer?

Do you really need to buy a sanitizer at a cleaning appointment? Maybe. If you’re concerned due to the virus, it is not a bad idea, but it may not be completely necessary. In general, sanitizer should be used when you want to take care of a particular problem that you are trying to solve like vomit, mold remediation, pet urine, blood, etc. 

Heat from high-performance hot water extraction provides a health benefit to any indoor structure when performed properly and within acceptable standards. Many disinfectants and biocides have negative impacts on the stain-resistant properties of carpets. Our crew uses sanitizers that are thyme based. These sanitizers are approved by the EPA Design for the Environment program and do not affect the stain resistance. 

If you are concerned about sanitizing during this uncertain time, we understand. Our team is up and running to help meet your needs. Please feel free to reach out with any of your cleaning questions or check out our special disinfecting services for Comanche County.