• Inside-only shoes can help avoid spreading bacteria into carpeting.feet and sandals image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
  
  The average homeowners' carpet harbors about 200,000 bacteria on every square inch, about 4,000 times as much as their toilet seat. Skin cells, food particles, and pollen can all feed bacteria living in carpeting, and unfortunately, most vacuums don't have the suction power to remove all of them. To lessen the amount of bacteria, remove shoes worn outside once inside the house. Consider a deep steam-clean twice a year and use machine-washable rugs in high-traffic areas.
  
  

Escherichia Coli (E. coli)

• There are several different strains of the bacteria E. coli, some of which are harmless, while others can cause diarrhea, urinary tract inflections, respiratory illness and pneumonia. It is found in the intestinal tract of mammals and released through fecal matter. Pets can deposit E.coli directly into your carpet, it can come out of your toilet when you flush, and it can be tracked into your carpet from outside. E. coli can carry a toxin called Shiga, and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC, is what causes some E. coli infections when it's ingested, usually through contaminated food or water.
  
  

Staphylococcus aureus (Staph)

• Staph is a bacteria that lives in the nose or on the skin, even on otherwise healthy people. It can also cause skin infections ranging from pimples and boils to wound and bloodstream infections and pneumonia. Antibiotics can treat most types of staph, but others are resistant. Staph can be spread into carpet through blood, skin, dirty hands and fingernails, and mucous (for example, when one sneezes over a carpeted area).
  
  

Salmonellosis (Salmonella)

• There are approximately 40,000 cases of salmonella reported each year just in the United States, and the Center for Disease Control estimates that milder cases that are not diagnosed could cause the number to be 30 or more times greater. The bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramping. It is spread onto carpet through feces of people and animals, including non-mammals such as birds and reptiles. It can be transferred into carpet through contaminated food, pets, people's hands after handling pets, as well as tracking in from the outside.