Is All New Carpet Toxic

All of the materials used in the manufacture of carpeting are primarily the same harmless materials found in clothing furniture and bedding.

Is all new carpet toxic.

The conclusion is that there is no evidence that new carpet odor is a cause for alarm. You probably don t think there is a need to clean new carpet after it is installed but it is actually a very good idea. New carpet can be hazardous to your health if you are concerned about toxic exposures and are doing things like eating organic food and drinking filtered water you ll want to also do something about your wall to wall carpet. I encourage you visit the carpet and rug institute cri first before you do anything else.

Your new carpet contains several toxins from various repellants and chemicals from manufacturers. These chemicals also cause hallucinations nerve damage and respiratory illness in humans. The cri has developed a voc emission test for carpets. Contain toluene benzene formaldehyde ethyl benzene styrene acetone and a host of other chemicals that are known carcinogens and produce fetal abnormalities in test animals.

While the new carpet smell might be preferable to the musty smell associated with old and dirty carpets this smell is produced by 4 phenyl cyclohexane 4 pc. Please refer to this article. The odor of new carpeting is caused by chemicals known as volatile organic compounds or vocs. Volatile in this case means they evaporate at room temperature.

Now that you should have a general sense of all the chemicals that might off gas from your new carpet let s take a look at non toxic alternatives instead. 4 phenyl cyclohexaneis a gas that is produced from chemical reactions between the styrene and butadiene latex most likely used in the backing of your new carpeting. This broad group of chemicals includes many that are frequently used in the manufacture of household products such as paint vinyl flooring and pressed wood furniture. New carpets can contain several known carcinogens including formaldehyde ethylbenzene acetone toluene and styrene.