Most people pride themselves on trying to keep their homes – and themselves – clean and tidy.
But new research undertaken by The Rug Doctor has suggested that we are perhaps not as house proud and sanitary as we would like people to think.
Their new study of more than 2,000 people has shown that when it comes to making our beds over half of us will leave our dirty sheets on for weeks.
What’s more, one third of people have said that they don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet which directly increases the spread of germs around your property.
The Rug Doctor also swabbed 30 carpets and shoes from a cross section of homes and found some pretty astonishing – not to mention disturbing – results.
In fact you might want to put down your lunch before reading this. The carpets were found to contain traces of horse manure, fox poo, urine, vomit and tar as well as human and pet hair, pollen and traces of skin.
The shoes that were swabbed were found to have high levels of bacteria as well as traces of animal and human gut and faecal bacteria.
The survey also found that one in ten don’t wash their towels weekly and the same number do not brush their teeth twice a day.
And only half of us – 53 per cent – shower or bathe once a day. Almost a third of pet owners admit they let their furry friends sleep in the bed with them, with more than 40 per cent saying they let pets up on the sofa.
Dr Pixie McKenna from Embarrassing Bodies explained her horror at the results.
She said, ‘Rug Doctor’s work to assess the nation’s hygiene habits has thrown up some shocking stats, particularly how little care people take to remove bacteria and grime within their homes.
‘Men are the worst offenders at not washing their hands after going to the toilet (38 per cent).
‘But more worrying, is the fact that dangerous bugs like pneumonia and E Coli are being brought into our homes on the soles of our shoes.
‘These are then trampled into the carpets by us not removing our shoes at the door.
In fact, 41 per cent of people say they still don’t intend to remove their footwear at the door, even though Rug Doctor has revealed the nasties lurking in their carpets.
‘This is no laughing matter people of the UK poor hygiene at home risks your health!’
Not only is it a case of dirt being brought into the house, but spills, stains and mishaps are adding to the ground-in grime in our carpets.
More than a quarter – 28 per cent – of the UK’s population has had a pet be sick on the flooring and 24 per cent have had a pet leave their mess.
Furthermore nearly a third – 30 per cent – have had a baby or someone else be sick on their carpet and a quarter – 22 per cent – admit to having had sex on the floor.
While it certainly does not compare to the cleanliness that comes exclusively with professional carpet cleaning, The Rug Doctor recommends wet cleaning your carpets at least bi-annually to prevent the spread of germs.
Original article can be found here.