Question from Lynnette
Hi Debra,
I so appreciate what you do and your website. It has been a life saver with my MCS.
I have 25 year old carpeting. It was one of the triggers to getting MCS and other health issues but it took 10 years after installing to find out about MCS.
My question now is I still have the carpets in my house. I heard that they have off-gassed and safe after six years. That is why I didn’t get rid of them. But now I am wondering if they are exposing us to chemicals in the carpets that might break down and go into the air and we breath them. If they are safe after all these years I don’t want to replace them at this time but if bad I am ready to pull them up and replace with a safer flooring.
Are old carpets o.k. or not?
Thanks so much.
Debra’s Answer
In my experience as a consultant, who has been to the homes of many clients with MCS, I just got to a point where if someone had carpet of any age I said, “Take out the carpet!”
Often it’s the last thing to go, but people didn’t start recovering until after they finally took out the carpet.
I remember telling this to one woman and she said, “OK let’s do it right now!” And we both got on our hands and knees and starting pulling out the wall-to-wall carpet. When we finally had it out of the house she said, “Wow! I didn’t know this would make such a difference. I can breathe!”
It would be interesting for you to do the HomeLab.com air quality monitoring and see how your carpet registers on the air quality monitor. That would give you real data about what you need to do.
The problems with air quality from carpet goes way beyond toxic exposures from synthetic fibers and finishes. I once took up a carpet and there was a whole nest of carpenter ants eating a hole in the floor under the carpet. And there’s padding and dust and mold and padding…
If you’re ready, my advice would be to just remove it and get a good nontoxic floor that you can clean.
What is a good nontoxic floor for a bathroom?
Porcelain tile or natural stone.
Debra, what would you recommend for a non toxic floor as a replacement for carpet? Any kind of wood floor would qualify?
I meant to ask if there are any kind of wood floors that would be considered non toxic.
All the prefinished floors I’ve ever used or seen have been fine. The finish is actually baked on. Let them air out a bit after they come out of the box before you decide if they are outgassing or not. There may be residues from being in the box.
Yes any kind of wood floor would qualify as long as it has a nontoxic finish. You could get a prefinished wood floor, or unfinished wood and apply the nontoxic finish of your choice.
Wouldn’t engineered wood flooring have formaldehyde in the adhesive used to glue the layers together? Are are you speaking only to solid wood flooring?
Yes. I am only recommending prefinished SOLID WOOD flooring.