Cleaning carpet to help with allergies and asthma

 

 

Ah, cleaning carpet. It's about as much fun as getting the tires balanced and rotated on the minivan (next on my list).

Luckily, the main living floor of our house has wood floors, which are recommended for people with asthma. I can keep them quite clean, because I can see all the dirt, dust bunnies and food particles that have dropped. And with teenagers around, they can get dirty in a hurry.

The downstairs level is another story. With another living room, dining room and kitchen, the downstairs gets a lot of use. This weekend #1 Son had a Star Wars movie marathon. There was a great group of college aged kids over and they weren't too messy. But with all the previous stains we decided to bite the bullet and get the carpets cleaned.

Our downstairs has Berber carpet, the unique smooth wool carpet seems to trap less dirt and gunk than a 'pile' carpet. We've had the carpet cleaned in the past, but it still looks dirty. So we're trying a new system that uses a specially formulated hot water that is supposed to leave the carpet drier. The carpet cleaners claim they don't flood the carpet with water and soap, so there's no residue left behind. 

 

Apparently, that's what causes problems - when the water and soap don't get sucked back out and instead is left down in the carpet. (Great breeding ground for all sorts of fun things). So we'll see how this system works. 

 

 I passed on the spray protectant. My kids are at the movie, but I don't want anything sprayed on the carpet that could cause an asthma attack.

It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference with their allergies and asthma. 

 

Every little thing I can do to make the house a little cleaner helps, right?

Anyone else have any fun carpet cleaning stories? Has it seemed to help your asthma?