Will You Still Use Carpets After Reading This?

Granted carpets have their unique look and feel… they are soft and comfy, bringing a warm look to a room. It’s important however to understand the demerits of carpet. Did you know that carpets are harbourers of allergens and trappers of toxins like pesticides that get tracked in from outside. Most synthetic carpets also contain VOCs.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) refer to organic chemical compounds which have significant vapor pressures and which can affect the environment and human health. VOCs are numerous, varied, and ubiquitous. Most scents or odours are of VOCs. Some are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. Harmful VOCs are typically not acutely toxic, but instead have compounding long-term health effects. They can be man-made or natural.

Some experts recommend that wall-to-wall carpeting should be ripped out in favor of hard flooring like hard wood, cork, tiles or even terrazzo.

If you can’t afford to replace your carpeting, you can spray on a carpet sealer, one that does not contain dangerous chemicals to seal in off-gassing toxins that are a particular problem with newer carpets. Vacuum weekly with a high-performance cleaner to pick up allergens.

Not to do away completely with the soft fluffy look of carpets however, you may want to consider area rugs, which if well matched to existing design, can be great at defining and sprucing up a space.

So tell me, will you still use carpets after reading this?

Post and Photo credit: http://okiriko.com/rethinking-your-fabulous-wall-to-wall-carpeting