Expert issues urgent warning over one part of your house that may look clean - but is 'packed with bacteria'
Experts have warned that carpets and rugs that look clean could actually be packed with bacteria.
People should be vigilant when it comes to cleaning the floor coverings, which require more upkeep than other surfaces in the home.
This is because fabric is more prone to holding onto dirt and dust particles than other materials due to its porous texture.
And the structure of carpet fibres in particular makes them particularly prone to trapping microscopic organisms like dust mites, as well as other debris particles.
In order to avoid this, rugs and carpets should be vacuumed regularly, whether they look like they are dirty or not.
And as well as vacuuming, brushing the fibres will help removed dirt that is more deeply embedded in the floor coverings.
When it comes to smaller rugs, they should be taken outside and given a shake before they are vacuumed, for optimum cleaning.
In addition, the flooring beneath where the rugs are usually placed should be cleaned, to ensure any dirt trapped beneath is removed.
According to cleaning experts from Gtech, people who have furry companion animals should be even more vigilant when it comes to cleaning their carpets and rugs. This is because cats and dogs shed fur, leaving lots of pet hair lying around, which can work its way into fibres - including curtains as well as carpeting.
Gtech experts also point out that those with pets who have hardwood (or other smooth) flooring should ensure they vacuum often, to make sure they are keeping on top of removing as much animal fur as possible.
When it comes to pets, stray animal hairs are not the only thing to be conscious of: experts at Gtech note that some very young or very old pets may have accidents inside, or can tramp dirt through the home if they have dirty paws.
The Gtech experts said: 'From muddy paw prints to puppy pee puddles, stains are a common enemy for pet owners, especially those with either very young or elderly animals. Acting fast is essential when removing pet stains, and you should start cleaning as soon as you spot them.'
When it comes to liquid stains (including urine) it's best to spray the stain with cold water, before then using a paper towel or cloth to absorb the liquid.
Then the area should be sprinkled with bicarbonate of soda, which should be left for an hour, before it is then vacuumed. This may have to be repeated several times, until the smell and visible stain have disappeared.
When it comes to mud from dirty paws, it should be left to dry, before as much as possible is vacuumed. A blunt knife can be used to scrape away any excess mud. Once it's removed, the same cycle of using bicarbonate of soda should be used to spot clean the area.
The experts added: 'For particularly tough stains, consider using cleaning agents, such as white vinegar or a carpet cleaner for serious stains. Just ensure that you use an agent that is suitable for your carpet, based on its instructions or maintenance guide.'
Meanwhile, cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch previously shared a simple hack for dirty carpets - and it only costs 99p. Mrs Hinch, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, recommends using a squeegee - commonly used to wipe car, bathroom or window glass - for getting the floor coverings clean.
Demonstrating the technique in a video, the Essex-based influencer gently scraped the dry 'squeegee' over the carpet to lift away hair, dust and lint, then held up the shocking amount of debris that the squeegee picked up - a ball of hair and dust.
Squeegees can be bought for as little as 99p, making it an extraordinary cost-effective purchase.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Thousands invited to new mobile breast screening unit in Woking
Thousands of women in north Surrey are being invited to breast cancer screening appointments at a new mobile testing state-of-the-art scanning unit will be stationed in the car park at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden in Wisley, Woking, until February than 9,000 people aged 50-70 are being asked to come in for screening. The NHS says that for every 1,000 tests, about nine breast cancers are found, diagnosed and treated Armer, public health consultant for NHS England in Surrey and Sussex, said: "Regular breast screening is one of the best ways to spot a cancer that is too small to feel or see yourself." Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, with the chances of getting breast cancer increasing with one in every seven women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their NHS says attending breast screening appointments when invited every three years is important because it can detect cancer before symptoms are aged 71 or over will not automatically be invited for breast screening, but still have the right to a free test every three can phone or write to their local breast screening unit to make an appointment.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Bizarre ‘boil in a bag' funerals where bodies are LIQUIFIED & flushed down a drain could get the go-ahead in UK
"BOIL in a bag" funerals could be set to become available in the UK - as controversial method criticised as disrespectful. The alternative method, which is already available in other countries, works to dissolve bodies and flush them down the drain. 4 4 A consultation by the Law Commission is underway and could see the bizarre practice replacing traditional funerals which involve ground burials or flame-based cremation. There is currently no regulatory framework on the practice, meaning it is effectively banned in the UK - but the consultation could see this change. Advocates that support so-called water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis, claim that it is better for the environment. Skeptics that are opposed to the technique believe that it is a disrespectful way to treat the dead. Water cremation consists of using water and alkaline chemicals at a high temperature to rapidly decompose a corpse. The body is loaded into a pressure vessel containing the corrosive liquid, and is heated to around 160 degrees Celsius. This leaves liquid, known as 'effluent' which can be poured down the drain with other wastewater. It doesn't contain any tissue or DNA, and is described as a brown colour resembling "tea or an ale". The remaining bones can then be ground to ash for the bereaved loved ones to take home. These can then be scattered or kept in a similar way to traditional ashes from a flame-based cremation. Any metal hip and knee joints remain intact. One funeral home in Minnesota paid $750,000 (£580,000) to install the approximately six foot by four foot chamber a decade ago. It is a relatively easy process for undertakers who just push a few buttons to get the chamber to start filling with water. Despite having been patented in 1888, the process is yet to reach mainstream use. While some see the process as mirroring the baptism at the start of life, others view it as disrespectful. Critics have argued that it could be seen as a kind of desecration of the body, the majority of which is disposed as wastewater. Dr Lian Lundy, a wastewater specialist at Middlesex University told The Telegraph: "Some people view it as basically mixing up my loved one with poo in the sewer and they don't like that. "But there's a lot that goes into the sewer that we don't really think about – waste from mortuaries and hospitals and all sorts of things that we don't know about – so from that perspective, it's not really any different." 4 Co-op Funeralcare previously promised to offer the service in 2023 - but plans were delayed as they couldn't get through the regulatory framework. It is already available in nearly 30 states, in Canada, South Africa, and in Ireland - which became the first in Europe when it opened a facility in early 2023. Estimates suggest that the cost of water cremation will be similar to flame-based cremation, typically costing $1,500 to $5,000 in states where it is already legal. It could also provide a more environmentally-alternative to traditional methods. Flame-based cremation releases around 535 pounds of carbon dioxide in to the air while burials can pollute the surrounding soil.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
‘If I die, it's your fault': Life as a GP receptionist in Britain's broken health system
I could see the white foam at the edge of his mouth. As he ranted, his face was red and his teeth were clenched and he was moving closer to the partition. Genuinely, he looked like a cartoon character, like when they get consumed with rage. As a GP's receptionist, I'm not easily intimidated, but he terrified me. I hit the panic button under the desk. This was a guy who'd phoned the surgery that morning to ask for his fit note to be extended. I didn't have an appointment to give him that day. When I'd said it would need to be tomorrow, the abuse had started. 'You have no right to tell me I'm not getting my note,' he said, calling me horrible, horrible names down the line. Then he said: 'Just you wait, I'm going to come down and see you shortly,' and hung up the phone. I didn't really think anything of it because you get those threats sometimes – I'd say five or six times every single day, I'm called a name or sworn at. F---ing b---- is a favourite, or the C-word. But something in his voice made me and my colleague lock the door to our office, just in case. Then the gentleman appeared at the desk. I think if that door hadn't been locked it could have been a very different scenario. Thankfully the police came quickly, but I was shaking for the rest of the day. 'I've had to develop a thick skin' I work in a relatively small practice in the north of the UK with little over 5,000 patients. Since the pandemic, the demand for appointments has probably doubled, I'd say, and with it the abuse we get on the front desk. I've had to hit the panic button only twice before, but I've had to develop a pretty thick skin to the daily verbal abuse. On reception we are the front line. I don't like the C-word but I was more sensitive when I started. Now, the regular name-calling, it just bounces off. What I don't like are the threats. My colleague got told recently when she couldn't give an appointment: 'F--- off, I might be dead next week and it'll be your fault.' I've had that a few times. I had it on a Friday afternoon when a patient wanted to see the doctor to arrange medication, but it wasn't urgent. They said: 'Well, if I die, it's your fault.' And I thought, why say that to somebody? I've got to go home at the end of the day, I'm a person as well. I wouldn't dream of saying that to anybody. Your stomach kind of does somersaults and it stays with you. It stayed with me all that weekend when I was trying to spend time with the kids. Your tolerance builds up but some days, it can cut deep, and I think to myself, 'I'm only trying to help you.' My husband knows nine times out of 10 just by looking at me when I come in whether it's got to me. He'll say to the kids, 'Just give Mum half an hour to de-stress.' I'll go to the bedroom and shower, put my comfies on, usually it'll take just 40 minutes and I'm all right after that, but I have also sat down with him and cried. I'd say a lot of the increased demand we face is driven by the need for fit notes now, and a lot of the abuse, too. Generally people want them for mental health, or for a bad back, a bad hip, either because they can't work, or need to claim benefits. The number of fit notes our doctors do on a weekly basis is ridiculous. On a Monday, we'll get 25 or 30 calls for them to be reviewed, then it's 20 or 25 every day for the rest of the week, and we're a relatively small surgery. 'Monday morning is like going into battle' The other thing that often angers people is when I ask what their problem is. I don't need all the details, I'm only asking to check whether it's an emergency, or if they need to see the nurse, or the physiotherapist, rather than the doctor. It goes 50-50 – patients tell you far too much, or they really don't like it, and those people can become abusive. The other day, I was told I was a 'f---ing nosy b----'. I didn't argue. It can be well worthwhile asking. I had someone the other week demanding an emergency GP appointment and they had a verruca. They were signposted to the pharmacy but weren't happy. A Monday morning does feel like going into battle, needing to get your armour on. I usually get in for 6.40am to get on top of emails and prepare. Receptionists have a lot of admin too; I'll have 100 doctor letters to read on a Monday alone, usually 400 in a week. There'll be three of us across three phones and I'll say to the others just before 8am, 'I don't want to press the button.' It's like, what are we going to get today? Then it's constant for an hour across the three phones, and on one for the rest of the day. I have every sympathy when people are struggling to make appointments, I really do. I want to give them; I want to treat people like I would my own grandfather. When I phone my own surgery, I face the same issues. We genuinely need more GPs – actually, we need a new building; it doesn't have space for more. On a Monday morning, appointments will be gone in 30 minutes, and waits for routine issues can be two weeks. I know it's normal for people to get particularly agitated when they're in pain or anxious, too. If I have somebody on the phone who is obviously unwell, they will get dealt with that day. I know that if it's someone who doesn't come to us very often and they obviously felt they were ill enough to phone, they need to see a doctor. We do get the frequent fliers, though. The people who phone us every second day, where it's almost like a hobby. And they always seem to get through first, I don't know how they do it. But I get too that people are suffering more health anxiety. That seems to have been worse since Covid. I honestly love my job, which I realise sounds surprising. I've been doing it for the best part of a decade and have a great relationship with so many of our regular patients. I'll go above and beyond for them. I've delivered prescriptions to people who can't get out. You get emotionally attached; I've been to patients' funerals before. Sometimes, when I can see that the carer of an ill patient needs to talk, I'll bring them into the office and allow them to let out how they're feeling so they can go back with their game face on. Reading a doctor's letter and realising a patient has cancer is very, very hard. All the same, I can't produce appointments from nowhere. I get people's frustrations, I do, but my colleagues and I do genuinely want to help. And we're only the people on the front desk. As told to Emily Retter
