Do consumers still think carpet is the ‘unhealthy’ option?

The tsunami that was ‘carpet is bad for you, rip it up and replace it with smooth floors’ has, fortunately passed. That is not to say, however, that the twin subjects of ‘allergens’ and ‘air pollution’ are not regularly revisited by the media.  Nothing beats a bit of scaremongering!

While in no way as front of mind as before, there is still a misconception among a portion of the carpet buying public, that for those with asthma, carpet is not the right floorcovering. There is an undercurrent that carpet is bad for you if you suffer from asthma.

Increasingly, however, research is producing evidence that carpet, rather than being hazardous, has distinct health benefits. The three-dimensional construction of a carpet is such that many airborne pollutants, which need to be breathed in to cause harm, become collected in the pile of a carpet, until removed by routine vacuum cleaning, so preventing their recirculation in indoor air. Furthermore, a dust mite is hardly a toxic chemical and it is beds, not carpets, which tend to provide the optimum conditions for dust mites to thrive.

Concern over carpet for ‘asthma’ sufferers still bubbles away beneath the surface. And, what is more, it is an entrenched view and difficult to change opinions. We, however, have the science to back our position.

Back