Wet Carpet & Bacteria
"Wet, Warm, Dark Places"
It doesn't take a rocket scientist
to know bacteria thrives in wet, warm, dark places. Hello everybody. . . this is Biology 101! (I know- everybody is not a word!)
This excerpt below was taken from a very typical collage paper.
The basic needs of bacteria are closely related to higher forms of life. They require an energy source, a carbon source, and a nitrogen source in order to fill their nutritional needs, the majority of bacteria are tolerant to the presence or absence of free oxygen in their environment, though few are not. Temperature and moisture levels also play a huge role in the survival of bacteria. For the kinds of bacteria we will study (bacteria parasitic to man and warm-blooded animals) the natural growing environment is between 25 and 40 degrees C. Since over 80% by weight of a bacterial cell consists of water, moisture is essential for growth. However, some species (ie. Staphylococci) are able to survive weeks or months in dry areas. Finally, bacteria grow best in darkness because ultra violet rays are lethal regardless of whether they are natural or artificial.
Good old fashioned unbiased research!
I Know What You're Thinking
My wet cleaner "SANITIZES", "DISINFECTS" AND "STERILIZES" our carpet with chemicals and steam. It even says it on my receipt!
NO. THEY DO NOT.
Let's take a look at the Host Carpet Cleaning Hand Book pg 4
Sterilizing, Disinfecting and Sanitizing
Sterilizing - to kill all living bacteria and fungi and their spores.
Disinfecting - to kill all live bacteria but not their spores.
Sanitizing - to reduce the total number of microbes by cleaning.
Sanitizers do no kill microbes.
Sterilize: to kill all living bacteria and fungi and their spores. Only three methods will accomplish this:
1. Steam under pressure - for at least 12 minutes.
2. Ethylene oxide gas - for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Chemical sporicide - for 3 or more hours.
It is not possible to sterilize carpet.
Disinfect: to kill all live bacteria, but not their spores. There are two ways to do this:
1. Immerse in boiling water (212F) for at least 2 minutes.
2. Immerse in a chemical germicide or bactericide for at least 10 minutes. Some common germicides are alcohol, phenol, chlorine and Quaternary Ammonium Chloride (quats).
It is not possible to disinfect carpet.
Sanitize: to reduce the total number of microbes by cleaning. Sanitizers do not kill microbes. You sanitize an area by:
- Taking out the garbage
- Washing the dishes
- Wiping an area with a soapy cloth
- SpongeDry (Host) cleaning the carpet
You can add disinfectants to a detergent so that some bacteria may be killed during wet cleaning but this will only happen if the disinfectant is in contact with the bacteria for at least 10 minutes.
When you clean a carpet with SpongDry, you sanitize it. If the carpet is wet cleaned it is sanitized. If it remains wet for at least 10 minutes and there is a disinfectant in the (remaining residue) detergent, some bacteria may be killed. But, if it remains wet for too long the carpet will begin to resoil rapidly, the adhesive may begin to lose some of its ability to stick and this wet environment is conducive to microbial growth.
Are You Getting Information Overload?
The short of it is. . . we are not helping things by cleaning our carpets with traditional wet carpet wetting systems.
Restaurants, Daycare,
Doctor's Offices,
The Cry Room at church!
Your Home?
These are all places that should not be propagating microbe bacteria. . . let's keep it in the laboratories.
One more thing for now,
Mothers don't let your babies crawl on other people's carpets!!!
See Carpet Manufacture Approval List
More will be added in the future,
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