You can always tell when something is new by the smell. A new car, for example, smells fresh, clean, and ready to take you places. New carpet, though, shouldn’t smell very strong. As a matter of fact, unless you have environmental friendly carpet, that “new carpet smell” might be doing more harm than good.

Sometimes, new carpets will contain volatile organic compounds (known as VOCs) which can emit gasses that cause some pretty serious health problems. When people breathe these gasses in over a period of time, they can begin to experience nose and throat discomfort, rashes, difficulty breathing, dizziness and even nausea.

One of the most common VOCs in people’s carpets is phenylcyclohexene (4-PCH) which binds the upper fibers of your carpet to the backing beneath. Unless the room is well-ventilated, vapors from 4-PCH can exist in the home for up to a week, meaning you and your family will be breathing in this noxious gas whenever you’re in your home.

Fortunately, with eco-friendly products all the rage, there is an option for your carpet. Low-VOC, eco-friendly carpeting is available that significantly reduces the potential amount of gasses let off by new carpet, allowing you and your family to breathe a lot easier.

If you’re our shopping for new carpet and you want to make sure you’re getting something that’s eco-friendly, you’ll want to check the label. If it’s been tested by the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Indoor Air Quality testing program, there will be a little symbol of a green house that contains “CRI.” The symbol means that the carpet has passed the CRI standards for low emissions.

Environmental friendly carpet is great, and when you need those carpets cleaned, you should use a service that’s also eco-friendly. If you’d like more information regarding our safe, environmentally friendly carpet cleaning service, please feel free to contact us at any time.