The dirtiest carpet location in your house might shock you. Photo / Getty Images
The dirtiest carpet location in your house might shock you. Photo / Getty Images
While you might consider yourself a clean freak and bust out your trusty Dyson on the daily - it turns out there is one spot in your house that's filth might leave you shocked.
Research by UK sofa and carpet specialist, ScS, found that the average bedroom floor is, in fact, 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat.
The bacteria on the bedroom carpet was also double the amount of bacteria found in a living room, and 10 times that of a sweaty gym floor.
Bedroom carpet bacteria. Photo / Daily Mail
Office floors were found to be the cleanest in the experiment - in which carpets and household appliances were swabbed to reveal levels of aerobic bacteria, yeast and mould.
Bedroom carpets were by far the dirtiest, with a combined bacteria and yeast level of 140 CFU per cm2 (colony forming units per cm2) uncovered within them, as well as heavy mould.
The cleanest surface swabbed was an office carpet, which contained less bacteria than a gym floor, toilet seat or living room carpet, possibly due to more regular professional cleaning.
Some 84 per cent of those polled by the carpet cleaning experts believed their carpets to be clean - with 63 per cent were not aware that bacteria and allergens can live on the floor.
Carpets can be a breeding ground for bacteria and dust mites, which can lead to health issues including breathing problems, eczema and other allergy symptoms.
Experts recommend vacuuming at least twice a week and having carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year to avoid growing levels of bacteria, mould and yeast.
Office carpet yeast. Photo / Daily Mail
Hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley said: "This research is of concern as unwashed carpets can become homes to bacteria and germs and in particular dust mites, which can put some people at greater risk of asthma, eczema and perennial allergic rhinitis caused by allergies to dust mite faecal matter.
"Each mite produces about 20 waste droppings every day, equating to around 20,000 particles of faeces in every cubic foot of air".
Dale Gillespie, Head of Acquisition at ScS, dubbed the results of the company's research "shocking", adding people should "put time" into ensuring their carpets are clean.
Toilet seat bacteria. Photo / Daily Mail
Bella Middleton, Founder of Norfolk Natural Living, added: "I am not at all surprised that your carpets are dirtier than your loo seat, largely because people clean their bathroom a lot more often than they do their carpets.
"Psychologically, we are all more aware of the need to give the loo a good clean, despite the amount of dirt and detritus that gets trampled through our carpets on a daily basis.
"It is often difficult to see just how dirty carpets are, especially if they're dark in colour. However, it is crucial to consider just how much bacteria collects in your carpets everyday, from dead skin cells, pet dander and outside dirt.
"Unwashed carpets are also a haven for dust mites which can affect allergy sufferers. These findings highlight the sheer amount of bacteria we're around everyday at home - it's enough to make anyone pull out the cleaning products."
