Carpet Dirt Spreader

Because I was at work early today, I got to see the carpet being shampooed. In a previous post, I mentioned the various body fluids that drop from patient's bodies onto the carpet. Naturally, I was curious to see how they cleaned it.

I asked the janitor if the machine suctioned up the dirt. He said no, the machine just spreads the dirt around. I asked if they use any special cleaning agents to kill germs. Again, he said no, they just use water. It helps to spread the dirt around more evenly so that the dirt stains are less obvious.

Now I'm wondering, if I drop my pen, should I pick it up or just leave it?