If you or someone in your home is prone to allergies, you might choose to look at hypoallergenic carpet as a flooring option.
If you do a quick search for “hypoallergenic carpet”, you’ll find a variety of articles doubting the claim. While carpet companies want you to believe carpeting can, in fact, be hypoallergenic, you’ll find many other resources telling you it just isn’t so. Who should you believe?
The first thing to do is to understand the true definition of hypoallergenic.
According to Dictionary.com, hypoallergenic is defined: to reduce or minimize the possibility of an allergic response.
With that in mind, it’s important to understand how carpet and allergies are linked. Carpeting can have three issues when it comes to increased susceptibility to allergens:
- Carpet can trap pollen, pet dander, chemicals, and other known allergens that are tracked into the home
- Many new carpets off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and benzene, which are believed to cause allergies
- Many vacuums disturb and suck allergens out of the carpet, but due to poor filtration and containment systems, they actually exhaust them back into the air.
The problem often isn’t carpet. It’s the environment in which carpeting is maintained.
As a homeowner concerned about the air you breathe, it’s important to reduce the likelihood of tracking in pollutants that can impact your family’s health. It’s equally important to invest in a vacuum that really gets the job done.
It’s equally important to make a conscious decision when investing in new carpet.
Buy carpet that carries the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Green Label or Green Label Plus for low VOC content.
Consider wool carpet if you aren’t allergic to wool, as it is naturally hypoallergenic.
Invest in a quality vacuum with a powerful motor and HEPA filtration. Look for Green Label manufacturers. Use it weekly at a minimum, more frequently for larger families or if you spend more time at home.