Green Daily

TOXIC CARPET: DANGEROUS TOXINS THAT LIVE IN YOUR CARPETING

This information, is brought to you by Absolute Air Cleaners and Purifiers Inc.

Over 60% of homes in the USA have carpeting. Carpets cover the floors of our business and schools. Children play for hours on them, infants crawl on them and breathe deeply of their fumes, proud homeowners inhale that 'new-carpet smell', and all the while we are being poisoned by the chemicals, allergens and toxic dust that lurks in our carpets.

Whether your carpets are new or old, they probably have more bad things in them than you want to imagine. The list is staggering. For new carpets there are 'volatile organic compounds' VOC's. These include toluene, benzene, formaldehyde, ethyl benzene, styrene, acetone and a host of other chemicals, some of which have already made the EPA's list of Extremely Hazardous Substances. Known carcinogens such as p-Dichlorobenzene are in new carpets, as are chemicals that produce fetal abnormalities in test animals. These chemicals also cause hallucinations, nerve damage and respiratory illness in humans.

Other compounds in new carpeting that affect your health are adhesives, stain protectors, mothproofing and flame retardants. That 'new carpet smell' comes from 4-PC, associated with eye, nose and upper respiratory problems that are suffered by many new carpet owners. 4-PC is used in the latex backing of 95% of US carpets. In 2000 the 3M Company removed the chemical perflouro-octanyl salphonate from their product, Scotchgard, because it had been found to cause reproductive problems in rats. It had also been found in high levels in the wildlife of urban areas. Mothproofing chemicals contain naphthalene, which is known to produce toxic reactions, especially in newborns. Fire retardants often contain PBDE's (see our report Toxic Flame Retardants and Children's Health) which are known to cause damage to thyroid, immune system and brain development functions in humans.

Older carpets can be more of a hazard than new ones: Not only do they contain the chemicals banned from more recent production, they also have had years to accumulate pounds of dust mites, dirt, pesticides and other toxins brought in on shoes, feet and pet's paws Did you know that your carpet can hold 8 times it's weight in toxin filled dirt and you can't even see the trapped dirt that your carpet is hiding! The EPA has stated that 80% of human exposure to pesticides happens indoors. Every time you spray for bugs or use a fogger, the chemicals settle in the rug and stay there for years. If you paint your room the curing paint leaves its VOC's in the carpet for you to inhale long after the walls no longer smells of paint. Just put in a new wood or laminate floor? You'll be living with those toxins, {sealers, solvents and glues} even after you clean with all the right products. Household dust contains lead and other heavy metals, because lead is in our soil and will be for a long time to come. Older carpets are so toxic that your chances of being exposed to hazardous chemicals are 10-50 times higher in a carpeted room than outdoors. If the carpet is plush or shag, your risk increases substantially.

What can you do? You can take action to reduce your exposure to carpet toxins. First, if you can, get rid of the carpeting. If not that, then vacuum with a Well Sealed High Quality HEPA Vacuum Cleaner that can do a much better job of cleaning your carpets then the cheaper vacuum cleaners found at most department stores. Low quality vacuum cleaners are not sealed well! Even many of the so called filtered ones often leak air through gaps in their cases causing dirty air to blow back into your indoor environment! Steam cleaning can kill dust mites and bacteria. A good doormat will stop a lot of toxins right at the door. Take your shoes off when entering your house and you make it a much safer place. If you must buy a rug or carpet, choose one made of naturally flame retardant fibers such as wool, and get a woven rug. Don't glue your new carpet to the floor, attach it with staples instead. Finally, get a Quality HEPA Air Cleaner or Air Purifier that will remove dust and toxins that rise from the carpet or rug every time you step on it or vacuum. If you follow as many of these precautions as possible, you will certainly have a cleaner and healthier home.

A great resource for your HEPA air cleaner / air purifier needs can be found at http://www.aircleaners.com/

This report is 100% free and you are welcome to reprint it on your website to share with your readers as long as you include the resource information links to the website{s} shown above.

Reply

Toxic Flame Retardants and Children's Health

A Hidden & Growing Danger! {Pay Attention}

This information, is brought to you by Absolute Air Cleaners and Purifiers Inc.

Flame retardant chemicals are in almost everything: Not only in our TV's, clothing, furniture, carpets and electronic equipment; they are also in our air, water, food and our own bodies. Their levels are especially high in our babies and children, because children eat, drink and breathe more than adults. These chemicals disrupt our thyroid function, immune systems, brain development and can possibly cause cancers. Human blood and tissue levels of these toxins have been doubling every two and a half years in the USA. What are these chemicals and what can you do to protect yourself and your family from their effects?

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE's), also known as brominated flame retardants, have been added to many common products found in the home. Plastics and textiles are usually treated with PBDE's before being made into carpeting, furniture, casings for electronic equipment, circuit boards and clothing. PBDE retardants have been in use since the 1970's when their counterpart, PCB's, were BANNED from production due to their undeniable negative effects on human health. PBDE's are very similar to PCB's in many ways, particularly in the damage they do to our thyroid function, immune system, brain development and in our growing cancer rates.

PBDE contamination is most prevalent in the USA. New York, New Jersey, Denver, Austin, Chicago and California areas have the highest observed levels of PBDE's in women's breast milk in the world. San Franciscan and New York women have levels up to 25 times higher than their European counterparts. Animals both wild and domestic have PBDE levels from 2,000 to 47,000 parts per billion. THIS IS A HUGE Problem! The highest concentrations are in freshwater fish downriver from industrial plants using these chemicals, however PBDE's have been found in marine life as far away as the Northern Arctic Sea. Significant levels of PBDE's are present in both outdoor and indoor air environments, particularly in homes where PBDE-treated products can be found, such as carpeting, furniture and clothing, plastics and electronics. {TV's, Computers, Stereos}

What can you do to protect yourself and your family from the growing threat of PBDE contamination? The use of PBDE's was cut significantly in Sweden and Europe in the late 1990's due to their increasingly strict indoor air quality laws. Since then the level of breast milk contamination in those countries has declined. They have also developed a number of products that use alternative flame retardants. Here in the USA we can follow their example by demanding PBDE-free products and by telling our political representatives how important this issue is. Until the indoor air quality laws change for the better in the United States, we need to clean up and reduce these contaminates in our immediate environments by using alternative fire retardant products, eating more consciously and by cleaning our own contaminated indoor air quality with proper HEPA air cleaners and HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners. Be Pro-Active! Keep your family and employees healthy!

A great resource for your HEPA air cleaner / air purifier needs can be found at http://www.aircleaners.com/

This report is 100% free and you are welcome to reprint it on your website to share with your readers as long as you include the resource information links to the website{s} shown above.

Reply

Tip of the Day - Great idea! But how about cleaning your carpet with All Natural Carpet Shampoo without chemicals and without shampoo!!

Unique All Natural Carpet Shampoo!

www.uniqueofmass.com

Check us out - www.uniquemm.com corporate

Reply

What is "pure essential oil"? Silly me. Cooking? Cosmetic? Automotive? I've not familiar with this product.
Thanks..

Reply

WHAT IS ESSENTIAL OILS AND WHERE WOULD I FIND IT?

Reply