Carpets – A Petri Dish of Bacteria

60% of homes in the US have carpets. They also cover the floors of our schools and businesses. Children play for hours on them, infants crawl on them. New homeowners breathe in that “new carpet smell” proudly! STOP!
You are smelling chemicals!

New carpets contain ‘volatile organic compounds’ aka VOC’s. These include toluene, benzene, formaldehyde, ethyl benzene, styrene, and acetone, just to name a few. Most 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 are also known to cause hallucinations and nerve damage.

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. These are just a few of the problems with carpets.

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 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? 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. Steam cleaning can kill dust mites and bacteria.

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Formaldehyde – Potential Allergy Culprit

Formaldehyde is a chemical commonly known for being used to preserve dead bodies of humans and animals. It is a carcinogen that has long been linked to multiple severe medical conditions. Where else can this carcinogen be found in our daily lives? Read below to learn more secret hiding places of this toxic chemical.

Formaldehyde shows up in a lot of the products in your home today. It’s not commonly added to many products intentionally, but instead, it forms as a result of the breakdown of preservatives in many shampoos, soaps, conditioners and body washes. You are literally probably rubbing formaldehyde all over your body without knowing it. It can also be found in many of your cleaning and beauty products, as well as some brands of baby wipes! Be sure to check for it in glues and adhesives too. Arts and crafts can turn dangerous if formaldehyde is present in that bottle of sticky glue!

Formaldehyde is a carcinogen that has long been linked to nasal squamous cell cancer. In addition to being cancerous, it’s a skin irritant that can cause allergy-like reactions such as skin rashes, watery or burning eyes, sore throat, and stuffy nose. Even for those who find themselves without sensitive skin, allergic skin rashes can occur as a result of contact with products that contain formaldehyde. Reactions can also include symptoms as severe as; headaches, lethargy, and nausea. If your child starts to feel sick after playing with, or using, a new product make sure that it does not contain formaldehyde in the ingredients!

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