Dirty Secrets Your Carpet May Be Keeping from You that May Be Harming Your Crawling Baby
According to research findings published in the March 2020 issue of “Building and Environment” carpets have high capacity to absorb, hold and then release different and biological matters. “… Carpets are reservoirs for uptake and re-emission of chemical and biological agents …”. To us at KneeBees it was always a great concern and one of the reasons why our knee pads for crawling babies were invented and designed in the first place. Scratching a knee is one thing but it is a whole different matter to get some infection into the blood stream via a cut or skin cracked open due to a bad rugburn.
We think it is important for every responsible parent to know what kind of nasty things are hiding in your beautiful carpet and what dangers they pose to your crawling baby.
Bugs and Insect Feces
Different insects get caught in the fiber of your carpet and become food for other microorganisms in your carpet. Another uncomfortable fact we would probably not have known is as living organism bugs need to defecate and guess where all their poop gets caught? You guessed it, your carpet.
Mold/Fungus
If moisture is caught in a carpet, it becomes a breeding ground for mold and fungus and can cause infections and skin rashes.
Mold
Germs/Bacteria
According to Dr. Philip Tierno, a microbiologist from NYU Langone Medical Center you carpet may contain up to 200,000 bacteria per square inch. This is dirtier than many toilet seats. Not all the germs are dangerous, but some of the most dangerous ones are E. coli, staphylococcus, Campylobacter, salmonella and they may cause serious skin infections.
Skin Flakes
While human skin flakes caught by your carpet are not dangerous on their own, they are becoming a food source for dust mites.
Dog and Cat Poop/Urine
Dogs - Even if you don’t have a dog, you might bring the animal waste (fecal matter) into your house on the soles of your shoes, and it will be stuck in the carpet and maybe cause infection problems when in contact with skin.
Cats - Whether you have outdoor or indoor cat, you will also have same issue of animal waste in your carpets introduced either via dirty paws after outside adventures or via litter box.
References
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132319308017
