Although there are some obsessive Americans who find cleaning calming and relaxing, most of us put off tidying up for as long as possible. But without a dependable house cleaning schedule, all sorts of disgusting things start building up in our homes, right under our noses. In fact, here’s seven terrifying side effects of not cleaning as often as your mother told you to…

1. Attention Bachelors
While you might be able to get away with a filthy home or apartment in college (to a point), when your teen years are over, you better clean up your act. That’s because 87% of women believe that your home is a reflection of yourself. And if you bring a date to see your dirty home…

2. Does Your Carpet Match Your… Toilet Seat?
About 22% of U.S. residents say that their carpets are even dirtier than their home’s toilet seats. Gross.

3. Deep Cleaning
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends deep cleaning your carpets every six months or more. Unfortunately, 45% of Americans ignore this advice, even though more than 2,000 mites can live in an ounce of dust.

4. A Nation of Slobs
We’ve already told you that only 55% of Americans clean their carpets regularly. But even so, 84% of Americans said that having clean carpets is essential to a clean home. Which means almost a third of Americans realize their house isn’t clean and just don’t care.

5. Lost Man Hours
If your family tries to save money by avoiding hiring a maid service, then you’re throwing away an estimated 730 hours in cleaning time every year. That means your household spends a combined 30 days cleaning, when you could just hire dependable house cleaning services to do the job in half the time.

6. Dust Dangers
As if breathing in dust mites wasn’t bad enough, dust exposure can decrease your cognitive skills by up to 6%. But an experienced maid service will know how to get rid of dust before it builds up in the first place.

7. Creepy Crawlies
Forget dust mites, what about the pests you can see? Food crumbs on the floor attract bugs and mice, and bugs attract spiders galore. If you don’t clean house regularly, then you’re inviting pests of all kinds to make themselves at home.

So if you want to get rid of dust, bugs, and live in a home your friends actually want to visit, it’s time to invest in maid services that can provide dependable house cleaning every month (or more).