Which carpets have the least amount of chemicals added?

[Dobby Tappet]

There are tufted products on the market that are 100% natural. 100% undyed wool surface fiber, jute primary and secondary backings and bonded with 100% natural latex. With a wholesale cost in the mid thirties per yard.

It's boring, but it is natural.

As for the statement...

In five years (and thousands of square yards) of selling it, we have had no claims.

I am without words.

Respectfully,

Dobby

[Lo Down]

Jilly said We are adding to our home and would like to have carpeting installed in our bedroom. I am looking for carpets that do not have the stain resistance chemicals applied to them. We have a small child and I don't like the idea of him down on the floor breathing in the chemicals. The SmartStrand brand mentions that the stain resistance is engineered in and therefore there are no chemicals added. I am leaning towards that brand because of that. Also, it does seem very soft. Most of what I read is positive about SmartStrand but a lady from a local carpet store told me she's heard numerous 'claims' filed about it. Also, are there different kinds of padding? Some less toxic than others? If I ask my installer to unroll the carpet and pad to let it 'breathe' before installing do you think they would do that? Or not, and just say they did? Thanks for any advice!

With all that has been said, take note that carpet installers are the ones that live day in, day out unrolling brand new carpeting every day and are more exposed to the chemicals and fumes than any home owner ever could be.
Once unrolled and installed, it is advised by some flooring manufactures to keep a window cracked open for a few days to eliminate and residual "fumes" that may have been trapped in the roll during the manufacturing process.

My own advice is simple. Stop worrying.
Any fumes from the initial construction of the carpet dissipate very soon after installation. So just crack a window for a day or two.

Unless there are serious documented allergic issues, I would not worry for a single second as to any harmful effects from exposure to the "chemicals" in the new carpeting.
... If there was an issue with this, we would not have installers still alive after 40 or 50 years in this trade, because these "chemicals" would have done them in 30 years ago. We work with freshly unrolled carpet every day.

For some reason, the word "chemicals" in the last 20 years has become a scare word by both the media and the "green" industry with virtually zero documentation of harmful effects.
If there were documented harmful effects cause by carpeting, the EPA and other governmental health agencies would have created new industry standards or outlawed certain chemicals.
There are people that fixate on the very word "chemical" as if all chemicals are poison. I have a relative that worrys about plastic migration in microwave dinners. She believes all the e-mail junk she gets.

I would look for documentation of chemical issues before labeling them all bad. Chemicals enhance and prolong our lives. Chemicals are good in my book............ and no, I don't mean PCB's

My advice is to buy the best carpet you can afford, be it nylon or wool and to relax and stop worrying about a relatively non existent issue.
That said, if you or your daughter have chemical allergies, then it's an entirely different issue. Chemical allergies are not all that common. Personally I have had allergic reactions from wool. It comes and goes every 7 to 10 years.

For 99.8% of the population, I would say just keep the home aired out for the first few days and then enjoy your new flooring without worry.

Also, are there different kinds of padding? Some less toxic than others? If I ask my installer to unroll the carpet and pad to let it 'breathe' before installing do you think they would do that? Or not, and just say they did?

Just tell them your concerns about airing it out and be sure to offer them incentive to do it......... $$$
Ask around for a good honest installer from friends or relatives or even the local carpet retailers. I think you will do fine with whatever your choice ends up to be......... as long as it's nylon or wool.

[Jeff Short]

Dobby, I have no reason to lie. It is true. No claims. No customers coming back saying they don't like the carpet.

Dobby Tappet said There are tufted products on the market that are 100% natural. 100% undyed wool surface fiber, jute primary and secondary backings and bonded with 100% natural latex. With a wholesale cost in the mid thirties per yard. It's boring, but it is natural. As for the statement... I am without words. Respectfully, Dobby

[Dobby Tappet]

Jeff, posting on these forums often makes it difficult to read the intended spirit behind a post. Please do not interpret my post as a question of your honesty. Because that was not the intent. It was simply that your post left no where for the discussion to go and I did not want to ignore your contribution to the thread.

Having had a few days to ponder it, I would like to ask, besides your claim history, why do you believe this is the finest synthetic fiber on the planet?

Thank you in advance.

Respectfully,

Dobby

[Country Flooring Direct]

I agree,

People should buy and sell wool carpets, People should buy and sell sorona products. People should not be worried about fumes.

I had a lady ask me if Polyester gave off an odor when on fire. I simply stated... Mrs Customer if you are in the home when your carpet is on fire please immediately leave the home.

[Peter Kodner]

Country Flooring Direct said I agree, People should buy and sell wool carpets, People should buy and sell sorona products. People should not be worried about fumes. I had a lady ask me if Polyester gave off an odor when on fire. I simply stated... Mrs Customer if you are in the home when your carpet is on fire please immediately leave the home.

From fire studies I have seen, if you are still in the home by the time the carpet starts burning, you have lost the capability to smell, along with the capability to walk, run and most importantly, breathe.

[FlooringGirl]

ortiz34 said Try looking into Bliss Healthy home I just started selling it and am excited and I am a big stainmaster carpet guy Carpet, Flooring, Bliss by Beaulieu, Durable, Kid-Friendly - Blissful Carpet.

Looking into this - I began wondering why no one has mentioned it, then realized that we haven't had a Beaulieu carpet rep aroung for a long, long time.

Tia

[Jeff Short]

Sorry I came off the wrong way. This is the most congenial forum I've seen on the internet, and I didn't think you were calling me a liar.

Anyway, in answer to your question, performance is a major factor. When customers don't have issues with a carpet line, that's big. Add to that the fact that DuPont sold off Invista, and therefore Stainmaster, one of the most recognized names in our industry, to Koch Industries a year BEFORE they introduced Sorona, via Mohawk, which has been around since 1878, as a carpet fiber. To me, that speaks volumes. DuPont & Mohawk haven't lasted 207 years & 131 years respectively by making a lot of bad business decisions. Bottom line is, why do DuPont & Mohawk have that much faith in the material? The way I see it, it must be a quality product. And so far, it has proven to be just that. I just wouldn't recommend & sell it as much as I do if it didn't perform well at a reasonable price point. I don't try to sell it to every customer, but when it fits the job, Sorona tends to be my go to line.

Dobby Tappet said Jeff, posting on these forums often makes it difficult to read the intended spirit behind a post. Please do not interpret my post as a question of your honesty. Because that was not the intent. It was simply that your post left no where for the discussion to go and I did not want to ignore your contribution to the thread. Having had a few days to ponder it, I would like to ask, besides your claim history, why do you believe this is the finest synthetic fiber on the planet? Thank you in advance. Respectfully, Dobby

[Jeff Short]

You either? We've seen our Beaulieu rep about twice in the last three years. He used to be pretty regular in stopping by, but not anymore.

FlooringGirl said Looking into this - I began wondering why no one has mentioned it, then realized that we haven't had a Beaulieu carpet rep aroung for a long, long time. Tia

[Peter Kodner]

Jeff Short said Anyway, in answer to your question, performance is a major factor. When customers don't have issues with a carpet line, that's big. Add to that the fact that DuPont sold off Invista, and therefore Stainmaster, one of the most recognized names in our industry, to Koch Industries a year BEFORE they introduced Sorona, via Mohawk, which has been around since 1878, as a carpet fiber.

Jeff your date son the fiber are a bit off:

History

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) was first synthesized and patented in 1941 (Whinfield and Dickson 1941), but it was not produced commercially because of the expense of one of the precursors, 1, 3-propanediol (PDO; Chuah et al.1995A). The production of PDO was halted in the mid-1960s, and ethylene oxide (EO) hydroformylation was developed as an alternative. In the early 1990s, hydroformylation catalysts were created to allow for the economic formulation of PDO through continuous EO hydroformylation. The vast majority of polyester textile fibers are PET. Its sister polymer, poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), has a very limited application to textiles (Werny and Chuah 1996). PTT, made by Shell Chemicals and marketed under the tradename Corterra® , has many characteristics that lend themselves to a variety of products—superior elastic recovery, good colorfastness, uniform dye uptake, stain resistance (Chuah et al. 1995B), and low static-charge generation (Chuah et al. 1995A).

Also, having spoken to some other industry folks, DuPont's selling of it's nylon fiber division had nothing to do with Sarona. Big corporations often have quite diverse reasons for the spinning off of operations, usually to raise cash or increase stock value.

I do not doubt your sincerity on promoting this fiber, but we have had a few posts here about some appearance issues with it. IMHO, nylons days are not numbered due to the introduction of this fiber.

[FlooringGirl]

On the subject of chemicals, someone talk to me about washed/unwashed fibers. Do they still not wash any of the fibers? In the past, I dealt with a lot of unwashed, but haven't heard the complaints which resulted from those lately.

Tia

[Peter Kodner]

Tia, not sure what you mean.

Most carpet used to be scoured when oil was used as a lubricant. It was a major problem for polypropylene due to their affinity for anything oil based.

Wool is still scoured before processing into yarn. I have been to a few yarn plants that spun wool and you would understand very quickly why they do this The receiving area for the bales of fiber is an experience your nose will never forget.

I believe that with the use of Scotchguard and Teflon for yarn l8ubricant, this process was eliminated as any excess fluorocarbon (in theory!) flashes off in the dye or backing ovens.

[Daris Mulkin]

I have installed wool that was [possibly] unwashed as it had straw mixed into the fiber. It was a big loop berber from overseas.

Daris

[Peter Kodner]

Daris Mulkin said I have installed wool that was [possibly] unwashed as it had straw mixed into the fiber. It was a big loop berber from overseas. Daris

One of thos3e "100% pure natural bebers"?

Sounds like a felted wool not a spun yarn. There must have been some type of cleaning done or you would smell it.

Sheep doo

is not too

perfumey to you

[Daris Mulkin]

Peter I'm a old farm boy from southern Minnesota. If it had sheep do oder on it I would have probably thought I was back at home on the farm.
Now if you want a farm smell go by a hog farm on a nice hot day.

Daris