Only 25% of Wales take off their shoes at other people’s houses!

• Northern Ireland worst offenders in the UK!
• Muddy footprints, Wales’ biggest pet hate 44%

With Euro 2016 kicking off tomorrow, football fever once again hits the UK as millions gear up to watch the “big match” in the comfort of their own home.  But, what happens when the final whistle blows and you’re left picking up the mess left behind?

Northern Ireland may have come top of their group in qualifying for the European Championship, but they also ranked top of the league when it came to not taking their shoes off, with only a staggering 3% removing their footwear when visiting a friend’s house.

Research released today by Vax shows that just (25%) of Wales remove their shoes when visiting someone else’s house. This is despite the region’s biggest carpet bug bear being muddy footprints, with 44% moaning about this pet hate.

While Wales is happy asking friends to take their shoes off, they can’t do the same with their pets.  With approximately 8.5m dogs living happily in a quarter of UK homes, no doubt enjoying the football and celebratory atmosphere as much as we do.  But true love comes at a cost!  Our furry friends are particularly problematic when it comes to keeping carpets clean.

Vax’s research discovered that most pets are allowed a free reign around the family home, with a huge 88% of Wales’ pet owners allowing their companions on their carpets. Over 88% are allowed straight back indoors, whether their feet are muddy or not!

All this traffic means that carpets get a lot of wear and tear. If a family of four only leaves the house once a day, that’s 2,920 dirty footprints tracked onto the carpet every year.  With that in mind, it’s perhaps less surprising that up to 300mg of soil is brought into the average home, every day*.

Add those much loved paws running in from the garden twice a day and you’ve got a total of almost 6,000 paw and foot prints over the carpet annually. That’s before visits from friends, family, tradesmen or anything else gets factored in.

Naomi Martin, Head of Category – Carpet Washers at Vax, comments: “You just can’t beat the warm, welcoming feel of a carpeted home. But most of us struggle to keep our carpets looking clean, as every day our families, friends and pets walk dirt into our homes. That dirt gets trodden deeper into the carpet pile and damages the fibres, so they quickly start to look dull and worn. Not to mention all the dust mites, bacteria, mould and other nasties they can harbour. That’s why whether you and your guests remove your shoes before coming into the house can make such a big difference to the lifespan of the carpet. Regular washing also helps prolong carpet life, as well as leaving it looking and smelling like new again.”

Vax carpet washers are designed to not only tackle visible dirt, stains and spills, they also help remove embedded grime that gets trapped between carpet fibres, which dry vacuuming alone can’t reach. Vax’s Dual Power range of deep cleaning, quick drying, extraction carpet washers will revive your carpets, without the hassle of renting. At the top of the range, the Dual Power Pro and Dual Power Pro Advance both use the DualTECHTM cleaning system, which combines counter-rotating SpinScrubTM brushes with a powerful rotating brushbar for a 360o deep clean.

For further information about Vax carpet washers, please visit www.vax.co.uk/carpet-cleaners-and-washers