"Carpet and Indoor Air Quality," in the Carpet Q&A forum, begins: "I thought this would be the best area to post this. I have been following the carpet versus hard surface ..."
I thought this would be the best area to post this. I have been following the carpet versus hard surface debate for many years and have made many, many presentations on this to architects, facility managers and school boards.
There was also a John Hopkins studies in the late 80's confirming the information in the following article, especially the tests done by Professional Labs in Dalton, Ga. The Hopkins study also measured the amount of time airborne particles took to fall as well as the heights they were stirred up to by foot traffic. The big caveat to these studies were maintenance being performed in a proper manner.
I would love to see some conversation on this and hope I can answer any questions and concerns.
1 last item: Formaldehyde has never been a component in the manufacture of carpet.
Very interesting read. I do hear of a lot of people who want to move to a hard surface do to allergies.
Some carpets do vacuum up easier than others. StainMaster does vacuum up 30 to 40% more dirt than any other fiber on the market. So picking a carpet fiber that vacuums up better, like a nylon would be way better than going with a hard surface.
Thanks for the post. I will share this with clients.
Mark thanks for the link. It has and always will be an issue, It is very hard to tell someone that the carpet is not the concern when most Doc. tell them that it is. You will find that carpets with the Anti-Static will vacuum and clean up better.
Mark thanks for the link. It has and always will be an issue, It is very hard to tell someone that the carpet is not the concern when most Doc. tell them that it is. You will find that carpets with the Anti-Static will vacuum and clean up better.
Roland
I think your right about the Dr's of this world. They are the main cause for people thinking they need to rip out their rug, for a hard surface.
If some one is worried about formaldhyde tell them to look at the plywood, luan subfloor, wood under their counter tops, furniture and son as the list will grow.
But it won't be found in the carpet.
I think floor covering of all types get a bad rap with IAQ. Air circulating in the ductwork of our home or offices can be some of the poorest quality anywhere. Molds, bacteria, yeasts, dust mites, and viruses could be present in every breath we take. No one seems to notice the stuffed furniture, mini-blinds, drapes, curtains, pets, and all of the other dust collecting items in our homes or offices. We fill our lungs up to 20,000 times each day. Does the major problems come from floor covering- I think not. We must take into consideration that our indoor air can contain as much as 100 times more airborne contaminants than the outside air. We are making our homes and offices more air tight. We have insulation in the walls, celing, windows, and anywhere else air minght come in. As a result the same air is cycled over and over--in many instances becoming more contaminated with each cycle. If you can see the dust and other types of material on or in the flooring, it is not going to get into our lung in its current state. Aeroallergens are in the 2 to 60 micron range of most particulate matter. A micron is one millionth of a meter--a unit of linear measurement equivalent to one millionth of a meter. So to change from one type of floor covering to another in order to avoid allergies is blaming a product for someting it is not guilty of. So if a particular floor covering is being called unhealthy, look around and see if you can determine what the real culprit is.
Why do they think it will be Ceramic/Stone? I think in our area it will be more wood or Bambo or something on that side of the flooring . Ceramic is ok but it is still cold on the feet and unless the cost of putting heat under comes down peole can put wood in for lots less. People still do not like dealing with the grout,and most installers do not like installing apoxy grout.
Also there is another kid on the block rapildy gaining in popularity and that is Stained and Polished Concrete. We are seeing more and more of this in residential and commercial applications.
Since the beginning of humankind, we, as a species have sought to live on soft floors. This has remained the trend from the earliest cave dwellers up to very recent years. It is my contention that the move in the market is NOT towards sticks and stones, it is AWAY from the cheap plastic trash coupled with sub-standard labor and workmanship that our industy has been trying to pass off as a suitable floor coverings.
Carpet, as a product, is not a thing of the past. The cheap plastic crapola our industry calls carpet is.
Since the beginning of humankind, we, as a species have sought to live on soft floors. This has remained the trend from the earliest cave dwellers up to very recent years. It is my contention that the move in the market is NOT towards sticks and stones, it is AWAY from the cheap plastic trash coupled with sub-standard labor and workmanship that our industy has been trying to pass off as a suitable floor coverings.
Carpet, as a product, is not a thing of the past. The cheap plastic crapola our industry calls carpet is.
Agree?
Disagee?
Why?
Respectfully,
Dobby
PS: Buy wool!
Carpet will always be number one. I think consumers were tricked into cheap carpet for to long, and it has been given a bad rap. I am seeing more and more builders putting in a better grade builders grade carpet. Of course there are still those million dollar home builders with a $15 allowance installed, but there is less and less every day.
I am afraid when these new polyesters Sorona/Smartstrand begin to flatten out and show how how durable they truly aren't may hurt the carpet industry for a bit.
My point is, I think the problem is there are to many stores that are putting the wrong carpet in the wrong application. People are to concerned with getting the sale, instead of selling what is best for the application.
But I think consumers are getting smarter due to the Internet, and I think people will start making smarter decisions on the carpet purchase.
You wouldn't be trying to pull the wool over our eye , would you Dobby ? Have to agree with you though cheap cpt and vinyl seems to be the norm for most .. I find they are shopping price , not product around here ..
...dj
