Factors that influence microbial transfer from carpets to human skin: microorganism, carpet texture and chemical treatment

摘要

The impacts of three variables, microorganism, carpet texture and chemical treatment on the transfer of microorganisms from carpets to fingers were investigated in this study. Microorganisms significantly influenced the microbial transfer. There was a significant difference between the transfer of bacteria and fungi spores. The amount of bacteria transferred from carpet to fingers was more than that of the fungi spores. The different bacteria species also caused the significant difference of microbial transfer. Escherichia coli as the gram negative bacteria transferred more than Staphylococcus aureus, gram positive bacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae did not transfer from carpet to fingers at all because of the capsule around the cell.Carpet texture (cut and loop) did not significantly influence the microbial transfer in this study. The microorganisms were applied to the carpet using an airbrush technique. The amount of microorganisms available for transfer was similar on the surfaces of both cut pile carpet and loop pile carpets, which resulted in a similar microbial transfer from these two carpets.Chemical treatments significantly influence the microbial transfer. Freepel 1225 water repellent treatment increased the microbial transfer from carpet because the surface energy of carpet was decreased after the treatment. Humectant A treatment reduced the microbial transfer by increasing the surface energy of carpet.It is known that microorganisms can cause human illness and the microorganisms in carpets can be easily transferred to human skin through direct contact. Once fewer microorganisms are transferred from carpets to human skin the risk of causing disease can be reduced.