Carpeting harbors a diverse microbial population, primarily gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Vacuuming and cleaning can temporarily reduce the numbers of bacteria, but these populations tend to rebound and return to pre-cleaning levels. Despite evidence of bacterial growth and persistence in carpeting, only limited evidence demonstrates that carpets influence healthcare-associated infection rates and there are no recommendations against the use of carpeting in general patient-care areas. However, avoiding the use of carpeting is prudent in areas where spills are likely to occur because carpeting contaminated with blood and OPIM cannot be fully decontaminated. Pathogenic organisms have also been isolated from the surfaces of cloth chairs, yet there is no epidemiologic evidence that cloth furniture in general patient-care areas increases the risk of healthcare associated infection. However, allergens have been detected in or on cloth furniture and it is suggested that cloth chairs be vacuumed regularly to keep dust and allergen levels to a minimum.1,2