32 Shocking Facts About Carpet You Didn’t Know!

Scientific Facts

1. Bacteria can survive on carpet for up to four weeks and, due to “microbial adhesion,” germs like Campylobacter, Salmonella typhimurium, and Salmonella enteritis — a nasty pathogen that causes terrible diarrhea and vomiting — can quickly transfer to food. So much for the five-second rule.
   
   
2. Carpet fibers and hardwood floors can be a hiding place for bed bugs. Bed bugs are exceptionally agile for their size and can move over 100 feet to acquire a blood meal, which they usually do at nighttime from sleeping people. People seldom know they are being bitten because swelling takes three to ten minutes to appear.
   
   
3. An average human sheds 1.5 million skin flakes every hour, the majority of which accumulate in carpets.
   
   
4. Carpeting that runs the length of a room is less safe than smaller rugs. Wall-to-wall carpets are more permanent than smaller rugs, and their endpoints are more difficult to clean. This means that wall-to-wall carpets are more prone to the growth of harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, mold, yeast, and mildew because of moisture retention, chemicals, fluids, bits of food, as well as other contaminants that provide a steady stream of nutrients.
   
   
5. Carpet cleaners typically contain naphthalene. This chemical is unhealthy to breathe in condensed form and can lead to headaches, vomiting, nausea, and urinary irritation. It’s a known carcinogen that can harm kids, babies, and pets.
   
   
6. Many modern carpets are composed of human-made synthetic fabric, while others are made of knotted wool that can harbor beetle grubs or “woolly bears.” Wool is converted to sugar in their stomachs, allowing them to eat through carpet like cotton candy.
   
   
7. Professional carpet cleaning should, at the very least, be done every 12 to 18 months.
   
   
8. By removing allergens and allergy-inducing dust, proper carpet cleaning and maintenance can improve air quality. However, the majority of people do not adequately clean their carpets, which can aggravate allergies.
   
   
9. A home’s carpet can accumulate cigarette carcinogens. Since dogs and cats, as well as children and babies, spend much time on a home’s carpet, they could be at risk for lung cancer in homes where cigarette smokers live.
   
   
10. Mature fleas find dry carpet the ideal environment to thrive in. On the other hand, flea eggs prefer damper carpet, which can be caused by flooding, insufficient bathroom ventilation, or moisture from the kitchen. Both humans and animals are susceptible to flea bites.
    
    
11. Several pounds of soil will accumulate in and under a carpet over the course of a year.
    
    
12. According to scientists, over 24 million tons of dust particles fall across the United States per year. The dust content of indoor air is usually twice that of outdoor air, wherein a cubic inch of air contains one million microscopic dust particles. As such, an ounce of carpet dust can house 2,000 dust mites.
    
    
13. The warmth of a carpet placed by the fireplace makes it ideal living conditions for a strange little creature known as a “firebrat.” It is a bug also typically found in the warmth of bakeries and can eat almost everything.
    
    
14. The Norwalk virus (which causes stomach flu), also known as Norovirus, is capable of surviving for a month or longer on an unclean carpet.
    
    
15. Chemical pollution from new carpets is a concern. Customers should inquire about using a low-emitting carpet glue or airing out the carpet before installation.
    
    
16. The mold Stachybotrys chartarum grows on damp carpeting. It induces dermatitis, mucosal inflammation, and immunosuppression by producing mycotoxins.
    
    
17. Incredibly, the majority of people’s carpets are 4,000 times filthier than toilet seats and seven times filthier than urban roads.
    
    
18. The Kawasaki Syndrome, which was first diagnosed in the 1960s by a Japanese doctor for whom the illness was named after, is an unusual condition that some scientists say could be caused by toxic substances in carpet cleaners.

Historical And Cultural Facts

19. The word “carpet” comes from the Latin “carpere,” which means “to pluck,” owing to the fact that carpets were traditionally made of unraveled “plucked” cloth. Carpe diem, or “pluck/seize the day,” has the exact Latin origin as “carpet.”
    
    
20. Although the exact date of when carpet was first created is unknown, they were most likely created by nomads in Central Asia — centuries before Christ existed — as a means of insulating their dwellings. Invading forces, merchants, and wandering nomads brought the practice of carpet weaving with them across Asia and into the Middle East throughout the centuries.
    
    
21. There are numerous tales about magic carpets, which are mythical flying carpets that can take passengers to their destination instantly or rapidly. One well-known example is Disney’s Aladdin, which portrays Aladdin and Abu discovering a magic carpet in the Cave of Wonders while searching for Genie’s lamp. With the magic carpet, Aladdin and Jasmine embark on a journey around the world.
    
    
22. The American carpet and rug industry claims that the distinction between a “rug” and a “carpet” is purely a matter of scale. Anything less than 40 square feet is referred to as a rug, and anything bigger is referred to as a carpet. Thus, based on the distinction of the American floor covering industry, the “flying carpet” or “magic carpet” is actually a rug.
    
    
23. The “Pazyryk carpet,” dating from the 5th-4th century B.C., is the oldest carpet in existence. It was discovered in a Pazyryk burial site in the Altai Mountains of Siberia in 1949. Despite the fact that many cultures claim it, many scholars believe this square, tufted, nearly perfectly intact carpet is Caucasian in origin, specifically from Armenia.
    
    
24. The art of making carpets was developed both technologically and aesthetically in court workshops in Persia and India during the 16th century. This era produced the Ardabil carpets, which are shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and are two of the most magnificent and prominent carpets in the world. These carpets were most likely made by Maqsud in the Persian city of Kashan.
    
    
25. The sickle-leaf vine scroll and palmette “vase” carpet, made around 1600 to 1650, is the most costly carpet ever sold at an auction. Appraisal valued it at $5 million to $7 million after it was shown in museums and galleries to represent exceptional Persian carpet weaving. Sotheby’s New York was able to sell the carpet for $33.7 million on June 5, 2013. It features a sickle-leaf style — the least common of vase-technique carpet designs — and is the only documented piece with a red backdrop, hence its value.
    
    
26. The Iran Carpet Company produced the world’s largest hand-woven carpet, which spans a whopping 60,600 square feet for the Abu Dhabi mosque in 2007. The carpet was placed in the mosque in nine sections. The carpet was originally 64,500 square feet in size, but portions of it had to be removed to match the mosque’s floor area.
    
    
27. Rushes — a type of flooring made of plant material — were used to cover floors in the Middle Ages, acting as a disposable carpet. If it became filthy, it was discarded. Carpets are now more permanent and can be cleaned on a regular basis using a variety of methods.
    
    
28. When the Crusaders brought them back to Europe during the Middle Ages, oriental carpets became highly coveted possessions. Europe had no impact on the design of Oriental carpets, so the influence was largely one-sided.
    
    
29. Potential buyers refused to believe (and were even offended by the idea) that they’d have that much dirt in their carpets, making early Hoover vacuum cleaners challenging to sell.
    
    
30. In its metaphorical sense, the expression “to sweep under the carpet” first appeared in 1963.
    
    
31. The phrase “rolling out the red carpet” refers to the act of extravagantly welcoming a visitor. In certain instances, such as film festivals or the welcoming of foreign diplomats, an actual red carpet is prepared for VIPs and celebrities to tread on. Members and officials have long used red carpets to mark their ceremonial and formal routes. Aeschylus’ Agamemnon (458 B.C.) is the first work to mention a “red carpet.”
    
    
32. The expression “carpetbagger” is a derogatory term that refers to Northerners who tried to politically and economically profit from the South’s loss following the Civil War. The name is taken from the carpet-covered travel bag used by many Northerners to transport their belongings.

Conclusion

A carpet may seem like a mundane object found in many homes and establishments. However, behind it is a plethora of exciting and shocking facts. Carpets stem from rich histories and cultures and have been the basis of many scientific observations. 

If you want to learn more about carpets and how to maintain them or are in need of professional carpet cleaning, contact us today! We are an expert in anything carpet-related, especially dry carpet cleaning. We will be happy to answer any of your inquiries and concerns.