Floor Coverings -more gas than a bowl of beans

Always on the lookout for ways to improve indoor air quality, today's focus is on flooring materials, especially carpets and rugs. When it comes to floor coverings, it is safe to say, as with most things, you get what you pay for. The safest choices are carpets and rugs made of natural fibers - wool, sisal, or jute - which, compared to synthetic options, are more expensive. So, if the objective is simply to save money, a non-natural option might be the covering of choice, even though long-term, it might result in undesirable consequences far more costly in terms of impact on occupant health than the amount saved initially.

Non-natural floor coverings off-gas noxious fumes. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. Most modern floor covering materials are made from petrochemicals, spun into fibers. Then they are usually coated with stain resisters such as perfluorooctanic acid ( a suspected human carcinogen). These are the reasons new carpet stinks in the days immediately following installation; it is the off-gasing of dangerous chemicals that people smell, but nobody thinks of the odor as a danger warning even though that's exactly what it is. Some installers will even unroll the carpet in the warehouse for several days prior to installation to diminish somewhat the offensive odors that linger after the flooring is in place. And once installed, these carpets and rugs become the biggest dust, pet dander, mold and fungus repository in the home, not to mention home to bacteria, roaches, silverfish, moths, carpet beetles, and crickets.

The easiest solution when concentrating on flooring choices relative to improvements in indoor air quality is to simply go with bare wood floors, with throw rugs if you like. Even then, it is important to avoid flooring and sub-flooring that includes dangerous glues and resins, which themselves off-gas into the living environment.

By and large, natural is healthier than synthetic, in all things and especially in flooring materials. If you want to have a healthier living environment, start from the floor and work up. Natural fibers and bare wood are preferable to off-gasing synthetic chemical substitutes, even though the initial cost will probably be more than we might like to pay. We need to think long-term and factor in our commitment to occupant health when making these fundamental decisions.

Comments (0)

24 Jan