After you think you clean perfectly your carpet and say, “Now this carpet is suitable for my child to enjoy with our cat” by looking for your wounded hands and faded carpet because of the cleaning, you probably overlook something crucial: The carpet cleaning chemicals you use to clean your carpet. Let me explain it in more detail.
Carpet has an important place at home. In addition to the role of decoration and part of the combination with your furniture, it is also essential for the healthy home environment. It catches powder, dust, bad odor of the air and environment and so increases the air quality of the home. Because of this, it is easy for the carpet to become dirty, produce bacteria and have a bad odor in time. All these make carpet cleaning an issue which you should pay attention to. But when you take a look at the ingredients of carpet cleaning products, you may think that is carpet cleaning chemicals really good for you and your carpets.
Let’s come to the question, are carpet cleaning chemicals dangerous? The answer can be both yes and no. Yes, there are some chemicals called toxic chemicals that affect and even some part of your brain in a bad way your organs or that cause to frazzle, stain and fade on your carpet. But when people understood these harmful effects of carpet cleaning chemicals, of course, most of them do not suggest or want to use them, they tend to use more healthy products for them and environment, so companies also search and seek for safer carpet cleaning chemicals. As a result, companies produce carpet cleaners without toxic chemicals and people have more interest in natural carpet cleaning alternatives. I will explain more the dangerous chemicals and their effects, which properties you should pay attention to avoid the harmful consequences of using carpet cleaners in the perspective of both you and your carpet.
Are Carpet Cleaning Chemicals Dangerous for You? Toxic Containing Cleaning Chemicals
If you try different carpet cleaners, maybe you notice them every cleaning chemical has different effects on carpets and affects you in different ways; your hands can be wound, eyes getting wet, throat gets itched, you maybe show some allergic reactions less or more depend on the cleaning chemical you use. If you experience such kind of uncomfortable situations, that means these cleaners contain some toxic chemicals that affect your health badly.
Here, there are 3 toxic chemicals commonly used in carpet cleaners and when you read them on the packets you should not buy those cleaning products:
Perchloroethylene: It can cause nausea, fatigue and dizziness, also cause damage in the kidney and liver.
Naphthalene: it is carcinogenic and dangerous to the central nervous system in humans but not in animals.
Butyloxy Ethanol: it can cause damage to the central nervous system, liver or kidneys.
From these chemicals, the most affected ones at home are children and pets, you know, they are more susceptible, lungs are not as strong as an adult, and their metabolism functions faster compared to adults.
They play with their toys on the carpet, sometimes take their toys to their mouths, and roll on carpet a lot and this means, their skin contract more with carpet and they also inhale toxic odor in addition to dust of the carpet, so they are surely exposed to carpet cleaning chemicals more than other people at home.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
Some carpet cleaning chemicals emit the gas which is named VOC. These gases are also toxic chemicals, the only difference is its form. The health problems VOC’s cause is similar to toxic, for example, damage in kidney and central nervous system, skin or eye irritation. The chemicals which do not contain VOC gases, VOC-free, the chemicals you should prefer as carpet cleaning chemicals.
Green Products
When the potential damage that toxic substances in carpet cleaning products are released by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), companies go for safe alternative solutions. They produce carpet cleaners that are non-toxins, made from plants and safe all for animals, humans and environment without any decrease in cleaning performance; these new cleaning chemicals also have an equal performance on cleaning a carpet. When you are looking for carpet cleaning chemicals, it is best to look if the product is green or not to prevent any damage in your home from these cleaners.
Three Common Carpet Cleaning Chemicals You Can Prefer
Citafresh: If you have a very greasy carpet which is not clean a long time, this chemical can be a good idea to use. It gives your carpet fresh and clean smell and works best on woollen and delicate silk carpets.
Odaban: If you want to remove your carpet’s heavy, persistent and undesirable smell, even rotten plants and petroleum products, this chemical one of the options you have. It takes the bad smell from the carpet and emits a pleasant odor.
Grease Release Spotter: It is suitable for oily and greasy stains on your carpet. After you apply and clean it, there is no residue remaining. It also faster than more carpet cleaning chemicals in removing carpet stains.
Alternative Natural Cleaning Solutions
You do not have to buy carpet cleaning chemicals from markets! There are 2 commonly preferred alternative materials that you can easily find your home; they are cheap, as effective as the market carpet cleaning products and truly safe natural carpet cleaning solution for your home.B
White Vinegar: It is an effective cleaning solution even on the toughest carpet stains. Mixing one teaspoon liquid detergent, vinegar and a cup of warm water is enough to remove carpet stains.
Baking Soda: In addition to being an effective cleaning solution, it also removes unhealthy odors on your carpet. Just strew it to the spoiled areas and wait for 15 min, the stain lifts will be lifted then vacuum the area, and that is all!
Do Not Trust to Market Sections!
Some markets can make some tricks; they put both green carpet cleaning chemicals and toxic chemicals containing carpet cleaners on the same shelves or next to each other. Sometimes, when you think about the bills you should pay after shopping, you do not pay attention what you buy and just go and buy from the market section for green products but do not do it!
Some markets even put toxic carpet cleaning chemicals in this section. It is good to look over the ingredients the carpet cleaning chemical you buy even it is in green product’s section.
Control the Ingredients
Even the little amount of harmful chemicals can cause undesirable health problems, you should be careful about the ingredients of the carpet cleaning chemicals you buy.
Some companies use substances that called cleaning solution which is recommended and their safety is proved by FDA’s Generally Recognized as Safe list.
Are Carpet Cleaning Chemicals Dangerous for Your Carpet?
If you do not choose the right carpet cleaning chemicals, of course, yes. Companies set the carpet cleaning chemicals’ amount and type different for each kind of carpets. Using wrong chemicals can cause big damage to your carpet, for example, its color can fade, or cleaning chemicals can cause the stain.
There are 5 issues I want to mention you should know when you buy and use carpet cleaning chemicals.
Enough Chemicals, Optimum Performance
There is a common misunderstanding: if you use more than enough chemical, it does not mean your carpet become clearer.
In addition to causing more health problems on you, it may damage your carpet; the fibres of the carpet can take down, the color can fade and on the surface of the carpet, the chemicals left some stains.
Different Types, Different Carpets, Different Chemicals
Companies produce different products for the different type of carpets, and the products work best on the carpets they made for. If you use chemicals for the carpet which need strong chemicals to be clean on your soft carpet, it is highly possible that chemicals damage your carpet.
Do not Prefer Untested Chemicals
If you use untested chemicals, you cannot sure the result of it. These chemicals maybe clean effectively without any damage, but there is no guarantee, they can even cause your carpet unusable again.
One of the examples and the trends of this is crystallizing chemicals. I am hearing the question, then what is crystallizing chemicals? It is chemicals that when you apply it on the carpet, it dries and takes a hard form then you vacuum it. They can be efficient chemicals, but they are not tested properly, so the most type of chemicals are too dry, tackle or hard. This instability of this product can damage and shorten the life of your carpet.
Be Careful About PH level
You should avoid chemicals with very high and especially low PH level. When the PH decreases, chemicals’ acidity increases, and acidic chemicals can cause undesirable results on your carpet. You should prefer chemicals with a PH between 7-8 to prevent any damage.
Basic Advice: Firstly, Test the Chemicals!
When you buy new carpet cleaning chemicals, before you clean the whole carpet, it is better to apply it a small and hidden area. So, you can see if the chemical damage your carpet or not, if it damages, maybe you even save your carpet from being unusable!
Are Carpet Cleaning Chemicals Using by Carpet Cleaners Dangerous?
It is possible that you have a little child, full-time job or just do not want to spend your time on your carpet cleaning and so you can think to turn to professional carpet cleaner for efficient carpet cleaning. But a question mark comes up in your mind, carpet cleaners use different chemicals from markets also you cannot control what they use, and are these chemicals dangerous?
Actually, it is true that some of the carpet cleaners are not using the same carpet cleaning chemicals in markets, they have more specific agents which they get from companies. But the logic is the same, if the agent carpet cleaners’ use contains toxic chemicals then this means yes, it is harmful both you and your carpet. Even you cannot be there when your carpet cleaning, still there is 3 ways I can recommend you know it.
Talk to Your Carpet Cleaner
Probably it is the most basic way. You can talk to your carpet cleaner and give more information about the chemicals they use. At least learning which chemicals they use will work, you can make some Google search about those chemicals.
Prefer Green-Certified Cleaners
As I mentioned before, toxic chemicals can cause serious health problems at your home and also shorten your carpet’s life. So, when you are looking for a carpet cleaner, it is best to prefer green-certified ones, that means they are not using any toxic and harmful substances for cleaning your carpet.
Consider the Reviews!
Okay, when you try to find the best carpet cleaner for you, comments for that cleaner have an important place. Are they really do your job efficiently? The chemicals they use really home-safe and environment-friendly? Is there any damage to the carpet because of the carpet cleaning chemicals or other reasons? You can find these answers in comments and I am sure answers have a really big effect on your decision.
To Sum Up…
Actually, carpet cleaning chemicals can be really harmful to people/animals in your home and also for your carpet. Carpet has an important role in air condition and quality, and this effect the health level of the home. That is why you should consider carpet cleaning. Using toxic chemicals effects badly people in your home, especially the children and animals. So, you should be careful about the ingredients of carpet cleaning chemical you use and try to buy green products or to use natural solutions. Also, these harmful substances can damage your carpet and shorten its duration of use. There are 2 things you should pay attention when you use carpet cleaning chemicals, that chemicals’ effects on livings at home and your carpet.
