Know Carpet Care and Covid-19 Pandemic

What can be scarier than the knowledge or information is out from a non-authentic source? Will that be better if we expose ourselves to many numbers of information but nothing true? It is an unabridged reminder to spend time and reevaluate the understanding of Covid and its transmission. Well, it is no more a hidden story.

Carpets, the new trendsetters of floor coverings placed in everyone's home. Why do we talk specifically about Carpets during Covid? Can they result in the spread or transmission of the virus on the floor? Will that be safe to use after the infection control measures? Is it possible to use carpets during Covid? If so, How? This article gives the reader an overall idea of do's and don'ts in carpet care during Covid.

Know what it is:

The recent article in TWC India says,
Now, after a year of its deadly spread, there has been a paradigm shift in our understanding of coronavirus transmission. As per the CDC's latest guidelines, the chances of spread via a contaminated surface are less than one in 10,000. Not just CDC, most virologists now agree that there is no evidence that an individual may catch coronavirus by touching surfaces. After being armed with a year-long data and evidence, experts have said that the only possibility of virus transmission is airborne through infected people. COVID-19 patients may transmit the virus via the release of droplets and small particles called aerosols when they cough, talk, laugh, or breathe. The person in their vicinity may inhale the lingering droplets and get infected. Even small droplets may trigger an infection in individuals."

Nowhere the considerate fact says that we can be free from transmission from the floor. The Covid pandemic sets the alarm for people and rings, "Cleanliness to infection control.

Risk Assessment:

Carpets made of fibers do not result in a dust making process. But since they are hard enough, they bring specks of dust by those fibers. Let's think of this. If we pour water on a hard think surface, they do not absorb it. Droplets of water are very much visible simply on those materials. We stay exposed to carpets daily, and the infectious droplets may fall and stay stagnant. It may take a step forward and possibly transform to airborne. We cannot throw what we love. Apart from all of this, we still have reasons why not to waste a carpet. But we can give the utmost care. Here are some possible ways.

1. Sanitize:
   Cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting are entirely different. But all these three steps reduce the risk of transmission. Carpets contain tiny pores which are less friendly to viruses. The virus gets stuck in these minute pores and reduces the risk of transfer to other places. So damp it, clean it using hot water. Add a disinfectant to decrease the spread. This step alone will not help in the long run.
2. Antimicrobial protection:
   Once the sanitizing is over, the risk reduces to half. To stay cent percent risk-free, use antimicrobial surface protection treatment like BR shield or Pre-spray to stop re-infection. Use these disinfectant sprays in the mild diluted form as included in the EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2. If the housekeeping procedures are regular, you can avoid the cluster of microbes entering your home.
   Remember, prefer vacuum cleaners to broom to clean the carpets and rugs. Choose the best vacuum cleaner with many filtration systems to stay away from airborne microbes. Example: HEPA filters.
3. Heightened maintenance:
   No one solution hits the Coronavirus before it spreads. But we can prevent ourselves from falling prey to Covid. Following the steps that help us maintain a healthy environment is the only possible way. We must accept the truth hidden behind the cleanliness forgotten decades ago. Now the Covid's arrival urges us to go back to the traditional form of living. Let us all learn to create and live in a sustainable environment that saves the earth.