Carpeting is Significantly Healthier and Greener than Wood Floors
This first paragraph is a very brief overview of the article: Carpeting provides a healthier indoor air quality than smooth floors because it acts like a filter which TRAPS and HOLDS germs so that they cannot become airborne. Wooden and smooth floors do NOT trap the germs which allows them to easily become airborne to infect us. When germs are “trapped” and “contained”, they do not become airborne as easily and cannot gain access to our respiratory systems. Carpeting is also greener than wooden and tiled floors; carpeting can be recycled repeatedly into plastic bottles, or even carpeting over and over. Wood floors require that trees are chopped down, however, I recall as a child that planting trees is going green, not chopping them down. It can’t be both ways. Once installed, wood and tiled floors are later destined for the garbage dump or the fire pit…doesn’t sound very green to me. This is a very simplistic synopsis. Please continue reading to learn more about the science and logic behind these claims, it will completely change how you view your health and the environment.
The following is indisputable evidence which overwhelmingly proves that carpeting is both much HEALTHIER and vastly GREENER than wooden or tiled floors. Contrary to popularly held beliefs, properly maintained carpeting provides a much greater health benefit than wooden or tiled floors within our homes and indoor environments, and carpeting is significantly greener than either. You can choose one of three options at this point: 1. You may choose to continue reading and discover the science,logic, and evidence which supports this claim. 2. You may disagree and attack the messenger 3. You may choose to ignore the facts because they upset your belief system and then continue upon your path with incorrect assumptions.
Addressing the author’s credentials briefly: George Heuvelman has been cleaning carpeting and flooring for the past 26 years, and is the founder and owner of Enviroclean of Illinois, Inc., which is a carpet and hard surface floor cleaning company specializing in health and hygienic cleaning standards. George attended Arizona State University where he majored in Engineering. He has invented and patented numerous devices ranging from: carpet cleaning tools, to medical devices, to landscape equipment in addition to the invention of machines for cleaning tile floors and grout.
Many people have been incorrectly informed that carpeting is unhealthy or unsanitary. All of those reasons for which carpeting is presumed unhealthy, are precisely the same reasons which support the fact that carpeting provides a much healthier benefit than smooth floors such as wood or tile. The unhealthy microscopic contaminates within our homes includes: Dead human and animal skin cells, dust mites, dust mite excrement, dead dust mite carcasses, bacteria, mold spores, pollen spores, dried pet saliva, viruses, and of course carbon, lint, silica, quartz, clay, and others. Remember, it is the direct contact with airborne germs and other contaminates within our homes which adversely affects our health. Germs which have been removed from the air cannot affect us. A filter which can trap and hold those contaminates would be the ideal solution. Carpeting is such a “filter”, which traps and holds the germs, thus removing them from the repetitive circle of continuous movement from floor to air and back. Forget the word “carpeting” for a moment and instead, think of carpeting as a floor “filter” which has been installed to “clean” and purify the air by CAPTURING, TRAPPING, and HOLDING the unhealthy microscopic biological contaminates. The exact same contaminates exist in homes with wooden floors or carpeting. Without a filtering mechanism to secure the germs, the contaminates landing upon the smooth floors are thereby encouraged to easily become airborne with any slight air disturbance created by practically any movement such as: merely walking through a room, sweeping a floor, vacuuming, or any other air disturbance which effortlessly lifts the microscopic particles into the air, and they can remain airborne for up to 8 hours or even longer if exposed to additional disturbances. For an illustrative exercise, imagine hundreds of children running across the SMOOTH tiled floors of a school corridor creating a huge air disturbance and stirring up germs which were previously at rest upon the floor. Conversely, imagine the same exercise within the same school corridor, however, now it has been covered with a floor filter (carpeting) which TRAPS and HOLDS the germs. The germs are held steadfast and do NOT become airborne nearly as easily as with smooth flooring.
I’ve heard from clients who have wooden floors within their homes who tell me that they “clean” their floors frequently. They are under the impression that their “cleaning” action has removed the germs, while in reality, their cleaning actions have in actuality disturbed the previously at rest microscopic germs thus causing them to become airborne, and they have mistakenly identified temporary cosmetic improvement as removal of germs. Their “cleaning” activity merely exacerbates an already unhealthy condition. Remember, that cleaning is performed for only 2 reasons; health or appearance. The typical homeowner believes that he / she performs high quality cleaning, judging by the resultant appearance. Some of the much larger visible contaminates are easy to remove with sweeping or damp mopping, thereby, satisfying the desire to improve the appearance of the floor. Unfortunately, it is the microscopic (unseen) contaminants which are so tiny that the smallest air disturbances easily lift them into the air for us to breathe and become infected which are airborne long before the sweeper or dust mop has physically reached them. Mold spores in particular easily become airborne with the slightest air disturbance, even the small disturbance created by a person walking in one room of a house is great enough to cause the mold spores in a different room to become airborne. This illustrates how smooth surfaces easily release germs into the air, and thus exacerbate an unhealthy indoor environment.
Quick reference: During the 15 year period from 1975 until 1990, the Swedish government felt that carpeting was unhealthy and removed it from nearly all of the public buildings and schools, installing smooth floors in place. The result: Allergic reactions of the occupants and students increased dramatically. The final determination was that the positive filtering attributes of carpeting had not been taken into consideration or understood better. Overwhelming evidence now clearly indicates that properly maintained carpeting provides a much healthier benefit than wooden or tiled floors within our homes and indoor environments. There is a negative stigma associated with carpeting which is undeserved. Most homeowners do not pay the necessary attention to, nor do they provide the proper maintenance services for their carpeting, and as a result they blame the carpeting for poor performance issues and therefore unhealthy conditions. Unfortunately for the consumer, most carpet cleaners rinse carpeting with soaps, optical brightening agents, and dirt masking chemicals, all of which essentially mask the contamination, and therefore intensify the problem.
At Enviroclean, our company’s primary focus as carpet and floor cleaning professionals is biological contamination remediation. We can fix any cosmetic or appearance issue, including spots and stains that other carpet cleaners leave behind, however, improving appearance without removing the biological contamination is counterproductive and contributes to an unhealthy condition. The fact is that the homeowner typically addresses the cosmetic care issues of his / her smooth surfaced floors (tile and wood) very regularly, but then neglects the carpeting, which should be cleaned as frequently as replacing the filter on the furnace. For most of us, that’s approximately 4 times per year. Unfortunately, the majority of supposed professional carpet cleaners do more damage to carpeting than the hoped benefit, so just imagine the ill effects caused by a homeowner who self-cleans their own carpeting. Those who choose to self-clean their own carpeting using a rental machine from a store, are merely inviting all of the germs from every home that that machine was used in prior to their own home.
Currently there is a noticeable fanatical endorsement of natural materials within our indoor environments ostensibly because they are natural and thus assumed to be healthier than synthetic materials. Once again, the facts prevail over the feel-goodism of the moment. You must not conclude that natural materials are healthier. For instance, mold spores, bacteria, grass, weeds, and viruses are natural, but we do not install them within our homes. Natural floor coverings such as wool are made from the hair of sheep, and when you think about it, is actually quite unsanitary. Would anyone want and accept a carpet made from human hair lying on their floor? I would guess the answer is probably not. Hemp and other natural wall coverings provide an excellent food source and promote the growth of mold and bacteria whenever the conditions exist such as high humidity and temperatures. Mold does not grow on synthetic surfaces such as carpeting; it only grows where there is an organic food source available. Carpeting is not a food source, however, the trapped contaminates are, which is a great reason to have your carpeting cleaned. Important note: How and who should perform the cleaning is a whole subject unto itself, however, I must add that we at Enviroclean have been addressing the issue of correct cleaning procedures for proper hygiene for nearly 20 years.
Carpeting is also Greener than wood floors. So I am compelled to ask. When did chopping down a tree become classified as being a green activity? I was always under the impression that planting a tree was green, now it appears that cutting a tree down is also green. You can’t have it both ways. Advocates of wood flooring will note that those trees came from “sustainable” forests. We have already proved that wood floors contribute to an unhealthy indoor environment, and now we discover that wood floors are not very green either. Yes, they are natural, but so is excrement from our pets, therefore, the goal of natural is not a specific science, but rather an emotionally contrived ideology. Wood floors have very limited recyclable capabilities. Wooden floors are also typically treated with polyurethane, Once wooden or tiled floors have been installed, they are not recyclable, they will end up in a landfill (nice term for garbage dump), or perhaps burned where they end up as airborne carbon. Doesn’t sound very green does it? Some people have also begun to install wall coverings made from hemp and cotton. Although these materials are natural, they can also harm the indoor environment by allowing the growth of mold and bacteria. Mold and bacteria grow where there is a suitable source of food, humidity, and temperature. Natural materials are themselves the food source. Wool rugs are also a food source for mold and bacteria. Conversely, mold and bacteria cannot grow on synthetic materials such as nylon or polyester carpeting. The food source is the organic contaminates which land upon the carpeting that allow for the growth of mold, but not the synthetic carpeting itself.
At Enviroclean, our carpet and floor cleaning services employ health and hygienic carpet cleaning standards and protocols. You should ask yourself, when you have your carpeting cleaned, is it a health related function or a cosmetic function? Most people clean for appearance with the belief that if it looks cleaner, it must be healthier. I’m sorry to report, but that’s not necessarily the result. In fact, most cleaning is performed with the primary goal of improving appearance, which means that the carpet cleaner is being judged by the cosmetic results.
For more information you can visit their website at www.HealthyCarpetCleaner.com
References and resources:
1. Swedish study http://www.interfaceflor.eu/internet/otherfiles.nsf/Lookup/Healthcare_CRI/$file/Healthcare_CRI.pdf
This above link provides volumes of studies and graphical evidence which supports the fact that properly maintained carpeting is significantly healthier than smooth floors.
2. The health benefits of carpet cleaning
Dr. Michael Berry, in his book “Protecting the Built Environment: Cleaning for Health,” says that most indoor cleaning problems are related to improperly maintained carpeting.
Dr. Berry continues, “Carpets act as a sink to collect pollutants of all kinds from indoors and out, according to Berry. As the sink gets filled up (the carpet gets polluted), it stores more and more dirt, dust and contaminants. When the sink is full, it needs to be emptied. He says that people clean carpets because they look dirty, although by the time you can see the dirt in the carpet, it is probably filthy. Rarely do people clean their carpets in an effort to protect their health, Berry says, but cleaning carpet regularly can improve indoor air quality. Some of the benefits of extracting pollutants from carpets include: Reducing health problems from loose particles; reducing cases of biologically induced illness; reducing lifetime cancer risks; reducing complaints for building owners and managers; and reducing liability for building owners and managers.”
3. Additional reference information:
a. A study covering 23 countries that looked at individuals that had carpeted and non-carpeted bedrooms to determine in which type of rooms people had less allergic reactions. The study revealed that individuals who had carpeted bedrooms had lower allergic reactions to contaminants in the air than did those with non-carpeted bedrooms.
b. The second study examined asthmatic children in carpeted schools, non-carpeted schools, carpeted bedrooms and non-carpeted bedrooms. Researchers found that those children that had carpeted bedrooms had much less severe symptoms and used less medication than all three of the other groups.
c. The third study looked at the protective influences of carpet in bedrooms for those children who suffer from asthma. Researchers again found that the “filter-like” capabilities of carpet in the bedroom allowed the children to use lower levels of medication to deal with their asthma than children in non-carpeted bedrooms.
