Did you know that People in America spend about 90 percent of their day indoors, according to estimates by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency? And indoor air quality can be substantially worse than exterior because inside air has particles like chemical substances, microscopic particles, bacteria and mould spores. These particles can trigger allergies and impact the health of your employees.

The question is: what role does your carpet play in air quality? When people experience allergic symptoms, they tend to blame the carpet – but the reality is that these particles aren’t made by your carpet. In actual fact, the carpet actually assists to lure the particles and retain them from the air. The chemicals, called VOCs (volatile organic compounds), come from resources similar to building materials, HVAC systems, furnishings, cleaning supplies, and also cooking.

Whether you’re speaking about new carpet or current carpet that’s being taken care of by commercial carpet cleaning, building proprietors and tenants have heard stories regarding toxic carpet odors … but in reality, these stories have turned out to be pure hype. 

Research by the EPA, other government agencies, and Cornell University have observed that the chemical pollutants from new carpet are very low when compared to other materials – and they vanish within a few days. Items like paint, wall coverings, and other floor coverings release VOC levels up to 10 times greater than carpet, and they can linger for weeks or months. There is no proof based on credible technology or medicine which indicates VOCs from new carpet result in adverse health effects.

This suggests that the health issues we may have attributed to carpet are considerably more likely to have been brought about by things like bad ventilation, fungi, micro organisms, and serious accumulations of dirt and mold in an air flow system.  It may take some detective work to ascertain the precise trigger, but in the long run, it will improve the interior environment.

It’s essential for building proprietors to understand that their carpets and rugs are not toxic – and that carpet maintained with a regular commercial carpet maintenance program can actually lead to happier, healthier staff.