“It has been calculated that if your pillow is six years old (which is the average age for a pillow), one-tenth of its weight will be made up of sloughed skin, living and dead mites, and mite dung.”

So wrote Bill Bryson in his most recent book, At Home: A Short History of Private Life. And it’s a fairly nasty thought to dwell on. One can only imagine the legions of undesirables that hide away in something as big as a mattress!

If you’re glancing around your own home and feeling squeamish by now, it could be time to call De Hygienique. The company specialises in eco-friendly mattress, carpet and sofa sanitisation – and we’re sure they can help with a pillow, too. Here’s a selection of their carpet-cleaning tips.

Should I wait until my carpet looks dull and dirty before calling a cleaner?

This common mistake makes cleaning difficult – especially if the expectation is that you’ll get your carpet looking like new again!

Carpets readily collect dirt and dust particles, together with microorganisms that attach themselves to these particles. This collected rubbish can have an abrasive effect when a carpet gets walked on, in turn causing it to wear prematurely. Vacuuming is a good daily maintenance practice but by itself it’s not enough to thoroughly remove deeply accumulated dirt that comes with plenty of use.

Regular carpet cleaning – we recommend yearly – by a professional cleaner not only gets rid of all the rubbish, it helps prolong the lifespan of a carpet, giving you a better chance of reviving a carpet’s original colour, remove stains, and improve indoor air quality.

But a completely spotless carpet is fine, right?

Even a spotless carpet may seem clean to the eyes but can potentially house all kinds of particles – from footwear or air-conditioner vents, for instance – along with chemical residue and microorganisms. Prolonged exposure to these indoor air pollutants can cause respiratory and skin problems, especially among those who suffer from asthma, rhinitis and eczema. So, good carpet maintenance means a healthier living and working environment all round.

Will any carpet-cleaning method do the job? 

Different methods produce different results, depending on the type of technology used. After years of research and development, dry carpet cleaning using biodegradable compounds is now as effective as, if not better than, popular cleaning methods such as hot-water extraction.

Dry carpet cleaning removes stains, dirt and microorganisms effectively, and there’s also no drying time, so it’s more convenient and there’s no risk of carpets giving out unpleasant smells from inadequate drying. Also, the biodegradable compound used in dry cleaning is safe, limiting the risk of chemical damage to carpets that comes with some wet carpet cleaning systems.

De Hygienique is at 246 MacPherson Road, #08-01 Betime Building.

Call 6749 1950 or visit www.dh-asia.com.