From being able to recycle itself to being re-used as a key component in other products to using bio-based or other postconsumer waste products, carpet is recognized as one of the most environmentally friendly building and decorating products around.

But there’s more. Contrary to popular belief, carpet is one of the healthiest indoor furnishings— residential or commercial— in the world. So what’s a salesperson to do with a customer who refuses to give the beautiful carpet selections a second glance because of a belief it is not a healthy product?

Despite public perception that broadloom can be a detriment to indoor air quality (IAQ), especially for people with asthma or allergies or sensitive to chemicals, there is no scientific study linking them. And, there are several studies that actually disprove any correlation.

The most famous of these is a 15-year Swedish study that found no link between carpet usage and the incidence of allergy or asthma. Begun in 1975, the research tracked the product’s use through 1990 and compared it with the country’s allergy and asthma rates during this same period. During the course of the study, carpet’s market dropped precipitously—at the start it hovered around 40% and by 1992 had fallen to 2%. The reasons for this drop are many but the main culprit was a public outcry about carpet being the source of increasing allergy and asthma attacks in the country.

But while the overall use of broadloom throughout the country shrunk to almost nothing, allergy and asthma not only continued to climb, but by the mid-1980s allergic reactions began to skyrocket. By this point, the amount of carpet used each year had already dropped in half since the start of the research project. Put simply, over the 15-year period, carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70% while allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30%.

Adding to the Swedish study’s findings, in 2002 an 18- nation study of nearly 20,000 people found a statistical relationship between carpeted bedrooms and reduced asthma and allergy symptoms and improved breathing. A year later, a study of more than 4,600 school children in New Jersey found that having carpet in a child’s bedroom was associated with fewer missed school days and less need for asthma medication.

Common sense approach

Citing one study after another may not be the best sales strategy to a nervous mother or school specifier. In these cases, try using common sense. For instance, remind them the clothes they are wearing are made with the same materials as carpet. The fact is much of today’s carpet is made from harmless materials—polyester, nylon and olefin fibers. Then there are the natural fibers such as wool. Again, the wool used to make that luxurious, comfortable piece of carpet is the same type that is used to make that warm and comfy sweater.

Another bit of common sense is to point out the reason why carpet can actually improved the quality of indoor air. Thanks to something everyone is familiar with, gravity, common household particles such as dust, pollen, and pet and insect dander— all common allergens—fall to the floor. In the case of carpet, the fibers trap these particles and reduce their ability to continue to circulate in the air.

Remember, the only way for a person to get an allergic reaction or asthma attack is to breath in the allergen. In other words, people have to literally stick their faces into the carpet and suck everything in for a period a time to be affected by any type of allergen.

In addition to the most common allergens, scientific studies show new carpet is one of the lowest emitters of volatile organic chemicals into the indoor environment and, what little emissions there are, dissipate very quickly.

Other misperceptions about carpet involve mold, when the truth is mold grows in any moist environment where dirt and dust provide nutrients. When carpet is kept clean and dry, mold simply cannot grow on synthetic fibers. In most cases, the mold people associate with carpet is actually from the subfloor.

Again, common sense would dictate why. When mold is present, it is usually found underneath the carpet. Anyone who has ever seen mold knows its growth is not limited to one direction— just look up the vents in an average office. The simple fact is it is very hard to grow mold on carpet.