Two recent issues questioned the sanity of consumers.

The first deals with aluminum oxide in vinyl sheet and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT). The consumer's question from the dealer who shared this was, "'What are the dangers of being poisoned by the aluminum in the aluminum oxide finish?' Apparently, the husband wears socks but no shoes in the house and is concerned about this. I don't mean to belittle this concern, but honestly, I read everything that comes my way and I've never heard this concern before. Are my customers as nuts as I think they are?"

The answer is, yes, but with an explanation. Everyday we are bombarded by information having to do with our health and how things in products may adversely affect us. So, yes, consumers are nuts to think they'll be harmed by something they hear of in flooring, or other products for that matter. They've often been driven there by scare tactics from someone who thinks he's an expert on subjects he actually knows nothing about.

Water is deadly if you drink massive volumes of it and it is the essence of life. Does that mean that we should stop drinking it? The self appointed "you're poisoning us police" are working over time.

The aluminum in flooring is not going to come out and endanger the welfare or health of anyone walking on it. If this were the case, and I mentioned something similar about the concern for carpet a few issues ago, the people who make, sell and install the stuff would be keeling over dead from being so close to it and that's not happening.

Furthermore, this dealer's online search turned up plenty of articles regarding the use of aluminum cookware, and the presence of aluminum in medications (and pickles), but not one mention of flooring. If aluminum was going to harm us it would have been done long ago by the toasted cheese sandwiches our mothers made us in aluminum frying pans.

Question two

The other question that's come up on two separate occasions recently, one actually involving a lawsuit, about the carpet going in the right direction. "Is there a right or wrong direction to install a carpet?"

There is no set rule or standard but there are those who will say the pile direction should be facing toward you as you enter a room. If there are entries from several vantage points this is a moot point. The carpet should be installed so the longest drops run the length of the room. However, if there is a light that shines across the seam, the seam should be running into the light source.

Then there's the issue of layout and eliminating as much waste and seaming as possible. In a home all carpet should be going in the same direction to avoid shade variations. On stairs the pile should face you going up but there is no rule for this either. To avoid problems and questions with pile direction, go to the house to layout the job and discuss any options with the consumer beforehand.

Most people don't have any idea carpet has a direction to it, so it may be of absolutely no concern. Bringing it up may even cause problems. But they should confirm the layout, which will negate any pile direction question. Usually, depending on the lighting, the amount of windows, and the style, color, construction and yarn luster of the carpet will cause the product to look different from the opposite direction. The shinier the yarn the more it reflects light, which can wash out the color or pattern.

So the answer to, "Is it going in the right direction?" depends on the circumstances.