How clean is YOUR house? Some filthy facts from Rug Doctor

I would love to say that I am sure my home is clean, if not particularly tidy. I obviously regularly vacuum, clean the bathroom and kitchen and occasionally even venture into the pits my children call bedrooms.

But as a convert to the cleaning capabilities of Rug Doctor cleaners and cleaning products  (they are the UK's leading carpet cleaning experts y'know) I have discovered that even immaculate homes which look squeaky clean can be harbouring grubby secrets. 

Even with regular cleaning and a no shoes rule in our lounge (which to be fair doesn't seem to be followed by anyone but me!) our carpet produces vast quantities of murky liquid every time I use a Rug Doctor machine. 

I know, I know I sound like a walking advert for them. I used to have one of those vacuum cleaner sized carpet cleaners which came out regularly with 7 children and 3 cats in the house and I thought it was ok- did the job I thought. 

madmumof7 with Rug Doctor machine

But after going along to a Rug Doctor blogger demo day last year and being invited to try one of their big hire machines (and then later a small but mighty portable spot cleaner which you can buy) I really am slightly obsessed with sharing how great they are.

In fact I'm so keen to convince everyone how much they NEEEED to have a go at using Rug Doctor products that as their official Blogger Ambassador at #BritmumsLive 2015 I will be wearing a very striking Rug Doctor Tee-shirt! 

 Feel free to come and laugh and point, or even better chat to me about why I'm such a fan that I would wear an unflattering round necked Tee-shirt to advertise the brand.

Anyway, moving on.  Here are some entertaining facts about the nation's cleaning habits taken from a Rug Doctor survey. Beware! They are not for the squeamish!

How clean do you think you are?
·       74% of us think our homes are fairly clean
·       42% of us don’t have time to do a thorough cleaning job
·       32% of us do the minimum required and are happy as long as it looks good
·       23% only clean when absolutely necessary
·       A third of Brits admit they don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet
·       Almost half of Brits leave the same sheets on their bed for weeks at a time
·       50% of us use the same dish cloths and sponges over and over again until they could almost walk out of the kitchen
·       44% of us have never deep cleaned our carpets
·       One in ten of us don’t brush our teeth twice a day
·       Only 53% of us bathe and shower every day
·       33% vacuum only once a week
·       35% clean their kitchen floor at least once a week
·       44% clean the bathroom floor once a week

How clean is your carpet?
·       41% of us admit they never take their shoes off in the home and walk all over their carpets in them
·       40% of brits believe that their carpets are completely clean after vaccuming which is a myth
·       51% of us admit they would still eat food if they dropped it on their own carpet
·       76% of us say if they dropped food on a friend’s carpet they wouldn’t

Did you know?
·       28% of the UK’s population has had a pet be sick on the flooring
·       24% have had a pet leave their mess on the flooring
·       30% have had a baby or someone else be sick on their carpet
·       22% admit to having had sex on the floor
·       Rug Doctor swabbed a sample of carpets and shoes around the UK and found dangerous bacteria in/ on them. This included high numbers of bacteria from:
o   The pneumonia family
o   E-coli family
o   Vomit-inducing toxins
o   Traces of animal (horse and fox) and human gut and faecal bacteria
o   Human and pet hair
o   Dust mites
o   Pollen
o   Traces of old skin

Rug Doctor stain removing sprays

More carpet facts and information about household allergens and irritants:

·       There are an estimated 24 million households in the UK and over 90% have carpets. Carpets act like a filter trapping spillages, household dust, airborne contaminants, dust mites, food particles and soil. As with any filter it needs cleaning from time to time. In between vacuuming and washing, you could try using a carpet rake.

·       Did you know, 90% of household dust is made up of people’s skin?

·       Every three days we shed a layer of skin! Dust mites then feed on the protein in these tiny particles. Each mite then produces around 20 droppings a day. As such, an average house can contain over two million dust mites with a new generation arriving every three weeks!

dust mite
·       Dust mites need the warmth and humid atmosphere that central heating and double glazing provides, to thrive. They can affect air quality indoors and cause side effects such as nasal congestion, shortness of breath, itchy eyes, interrupted sleeping patterns and headaches. They are found in bedding, carpets and soft furnishings

·       Did you know a room temperature above 25 degrees will encourage house dust mites to breed?

·       Dust mites lay 20 to 40 eggs and produce 2000 droppings during their three month life span! The average bed contains 10,000 dust mites and up to two million pellets of droppings! If you don’t deep clean your carpets at least once a year than these dust mites can build up having a negative impact on your health

·       People can sweat a third of a litre of water at night and this provides the perfect environment for house dust mites as they don’t drink but absorb water from the air.

·       The allergens that come from animals don’t live on their coats - as most people think - but come from their saliva and from the skin flakes they shed. When cats and dogs lick their fur they coat themselves all over in allergens, which are then passed to humans. Feathers on pet birds can also be carriers.  

·       Wherever debris can collect, vacuuming regularly is just not enough to ensure a clean and hygienic carpet.


·       Even the best vacuum cleaners only remove part of the deep down dirt that can include food debris, drink spills, flakes of dead skin cells, dust mite droppings, allergens like pollen and waste from pet accidents or young children. Even if your carpet looks clean, the settling of dust between the carpet fibres forms an abrasive layer that can shorten the life of your carpet


·       The average home collects 4 kg of dust every year - a regular food supply for the dust mites and bacteria that breed in our carpets!

·       You should deep clean your carpets by wet extraction at least once a year to rid it of allergens, dust mites and deep down stains and grime

So, feeling the need to hire a Rug Doctor machine, or treat yourself to the Portable Spot Cleaner?
Rug Doctor Portable Spot Cleaner

·       The average cost of rental is £22.99 for 24 hour rental including the hand tool kit for upholstery, car interiors etc and 1 litre detergent being around £10 – enough to do two large rooms, 2 litre £15 = 4 large rooms, 4 litre economy size - £20.

·       90% of UK households are no more than a 10 minute drive from their nearest rental outlet (3,500 nationwide). You can even reserve online or by phone at over 1000 outlets. Go to the Rug Doctor store finder at www.rugdoctor.co.uk

·       Rug Doctor has received a Which? Best Buy recommendation on both its Carpet Stain Removers

·       Its new Portable Spot Cleaner has a unique motorised brush as well as wheels and a retractable handle making it easy to use and transport. The product is ideal for families and households with pets and can be purchased through http://www.rugdoctor.co.uk/buy  




   Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post -views and opinions remain honest, impartial and my own.