Strange But True
Strange and Bizarre Carpet Cleaning Facts
- The first vacuums needed two people to operate
One person pumped the bellows while the other aimed the nozzle — teamwork just to clean a rug!
- People used to sprinkle tea leaves on carpets to clean them
In the Victorian era, damp tea leaves were scattered over carpets and swept up to collect dust — odd, but surprisingly effective for static!
- Vacuuming can burn up to 170 calories per hour
Cleaning your carpets could technically count as your workout for the day. Who knew?
- Carpet cleaning was once advertised as a cure for “household hysteria”
In the early 1900s, ads claimed that clean homes improved women’s mental health — a little outdated, but definitely bizarre!
- Some industrial carpet cleaning machines can suck up coins, paperclips… even socks
Professional machines are so powerful, they can pull small objects out from deep within the underlay — like carpet archaeologists.
- There are "dry" cleaning methods that use almost no water
Chemical encapsulation cleaning uses less water than a cup of tea — and still lifts out years of embedded dirt!
- Regular carpet cleaning improves indoor air more than houseplants
While plants help a little, removing allergens and dust from carpets does far more for air quality — carpets are air filters in disguise.
- Some people clean their carpets with beer, mayonnaise, or shaving foam
DIY cleaning hacks from the internet can get very weird. (Spoiler: Most of them don’t work — and some can ruin your carpet.)
- Dirty carpets can void your warranty — or your rental deposit
Some carpet warranties require professional cleaning every 12–18 months. Landlords often check for signs of deep grime too.
- Professional carpet cleaning can reveal the original colour you forgot existed
It’s not uncommon for people to say “I didn’t realise our carpet was actually that shade!” after a deep clean.