It’s not that dirty. We don’t wear shoes in the house.

In the carpet cleaning industry we often hear customers say they don’t wear shoes in the house. They tell us this to let us know they don’t think it is that dirty and sometimes because they want a lower price for the cleaning.

When I hear that they don’t wear shoes, I immediately assume it is actually going to be harder to clean than the customer expects. Yes, not wearing shoes means there will usually be less damage to the carpet fibers due to abrasion. The problem we run into though is the oils from their feet. The natural oils from their skin can discolor the carpet or area rugs and attract more soil to those areas that get more contact with the feet.

Some clients will use a moisturizer on the feet which adds synthetics oils to the carpet. The worst we have seen is carpet where the occupant used cocoa butter lotion on their feet daily.  All of these oils, natural or synthetic, attract more dry soil to those areas. To treat these oils we may have to use extra degreasing products to strip the oils off the carpet fibers.

In homes with pets, we do not recommend going barefoot. Dogs come in from the yard with soil on their paws and the associated bacteria. The same situation is true for cats that use a litter box and step right where your bare feet are going to be. The bacteria from the litter box are now in contact with your feet. In these homes we recommend adding an anti-microbial treatment when we clean.
If you are trying to protect your carpet by not wearing shoes, we would suggest using house slippers or socks instead of bare feet. If you have questions or to schedule an appointment, please call Quality Carpet Care at 850-668-8888.