This theme is one that has been addressed by the Carpet and Rug Institute to promote and grow the carpet industry. Whether you know it or not the carpet industry, through the Carpet and Rug Institute, is one of the most sophisticated industry’s in the country. The industry has taken initiatives to not only police itself but to set a standard for positive initiatives that stand as a model for other product manufacturing industry’s. The Carpet Industry is a $12 billion dollar a year industry at the mill level and continues to grow. But, to continue the healthy growth of the industry CRI took the initiative to determine what the biggest barriers for growth are.

One of the largest barriers, which continues to be perpetrated by the uninformed, is that carpet is unhealthy. A common misperception is that carpet has a mold problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. Clean, dry carpet will not support the growth of mold. The only reason mold will grow on carpet is if there is dirt that acts as a food source to allow mold to establish a culture on which to grow. Studies and tests have been conducted by building a room with wood framing, drywall, ceiling tile and other natural materials and then carpeting the space. The room was heated and humidified allowing perfect conditions for mold to grow. Within 24 hours the wood began to show mold growth. Every surface in the room generated mold except for the carpet and when there was mold detected in the carpet it was in areas where there was soil.

Another misperception is that carpet somehow aggravates asthma and allergies. On the contrary, because carpet traps airborne particulate that aggravates allergies and asthma it will not contribute to the causes. Carpet actually acts as an inhibitor to allergies and asthma. Hard surface flooring on the other hand will allow settled particulate to become airborne anytime someone walks on it or the HVAC kicks on. Tests have been conducted and visually depicted in computer models that actually show how an individual walking on a hard surface floor stirs up soil and causes it to circulate in a room. The same model employing carpet as the flooring material shows virtually no particulate generated to become airborne. It’s true that allergens are trapped by carpet but that’s precisely the point, they are trapped and not allowed into the airspace to aggravate individuals and can be safely removed through proper vacuuming.

Still another misperception is that carpet is more expensive to maintain and sanitize. Studies have proven, time and again, that carpet is actually 2 ½ times less expensive to maintain than hard surface flooring. Again, carpet will trap soil and hold it, keeping it in place to allow for its ease of removal and it will hide the soil effectively – hard surface flooring will not do this. Further, the industry has just adopted more stringent standards for cleaning methods, chemicals and agents and vacuum cleaners. Tests are being conducted on all types of cleaning products to measure their effectiveness in removing soil and their resoiling rate as well as making sure no damage is done to the fiber itself. The makers of these products are voluntarily supporting these tests to better their products. The same is true of carpet cleaning equipment and chemical suppliers. This support will only better the entire industry. Rather than fight the movement, suppliers and service providers to carpet feel this is an important step in raising the bar for them.

One of the biggest concerns for the last several years has been that carpet has a volatile organic chemical (VOC) problem. Simply put, there are many who incorrectly believe that carpet is full of toxic chemicals that are dangerous and hazardous to a healthy environment. First let’s dispel this myth with the most obvious answer. If carpet were as dangerous as some would have us believe, I and most of you and certainly people working in the manufacturing plants, would be dropping like flies from exposure to carpet. In fact, 99.9% of all volatile organic compounds are exhausted itself from carpet before it ships. For the last several years there has been a concerted effort to remove any component which could remotely be considered a VOC. You can walk into any carpet manufacturing plant today and smell virtually nothing from the manufacturing process. There is virtually no odor generated from all of the carpet manufacturing plants here in Dalton, Georgia. Simply put, carpet does not have a VOC problem. Could there be a problem with some backing materials emitting odor? Yes, but in almost every case some type of local substrate condition has been the catalyst for odorous conditions, which could have been prevented, explained or eliminated by substituting a backing material that would not react to any existing compromising conditions.

The biggest problem identified as a barrier to profitability is soil and maintenance. Carpet is not cleaned often enough, properly or as effectively as it sould be. Soil and improper maintenance practices will cause the product to “ugly out.” This will make the carpet look bad allowing the perception that it is wearing out. As long as carpet is kept clean and dry, and the right product is put in the right place, it will perform as long as one would expect it to. All of this is controllable but people have to understand this concept to prevent this biggest problem. If you ever have any questions about carpet contact us for the answers.