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If you are a Chatham, NJ homeowner with carpeting in your home, it is worth thinking about how it relates to your indoor air quality (IAQ). Many people love the comfort and pleasure that come with having carpet in their homes. Carpeting helps a house feel warmer in the colder months of the year, especially if you walk across your home in the middle of the night. It can be a better experience to walk on carpeted floors on a chilly night, instead of on tile or wooden floors. It is also cozier to sit on during quality family time or when snuggled up by a fire with a loved one. That all being said, your carpet can be an often-overlooked aspect of how healthy your indoor air quality is. At Pipe Works Services, we care about your IAQ, so let’s take you through how your carpet might be affecting it.
Age of Carpeting
If you have carpeting in your home that was installed 10 years ago or more, you will want to have it replaced or, at the very minimum, professionally inspected. You will also want to do the same if you move into a home with pre-existing carpeting. This is because, over this long of a period of use, your carpet may be harboring a wide array of allergens and pollutants. Common types of undesirable elements that could be rampant in older carpets include dust mites, pest droppings, pet dander, mold, bacteria, and other particles. These types of pollutants can be present to an even greater degree in carpet varieties with longer threads, such as shag. Mold and mildew are most typical in residences that have had to deal with water damage but did not change out the carpet. Mold spores can be extremely difficult to eradicate completely, can be well-hidden deep in old carpet, and may be forced up by everyday activities like forceful sitting or by small children crawling around and playing. These hidden threats often present in older carpeting can affect your indoor air quality significantly.
You can also have older carpeting tested for mold by a professional inspection company. You are going to want to find out the test results before doing a heavy-duty vacuuming. This is because vacuuming may cause mold spores to become airborne. If you must vacuum the carpet yourself, stick to a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. After testing, recommendations will be made involving things like deep cleaning or replacing the carpet altogether.
Interestingly enough, the age of your carpeting and its effect on IAQ also come into play with brand-new carpets. While older carpet may harbor tons of pollutants due to old age and neglect, brand-new carpeting can wind up having volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into your indoor air during the installation process. This is because many adhesive glues and chemicals utilized for the installation of new carpeting can pollute your air and make breathing more difficult.
With new carpeting, you can take some preventative measures to minimize how it is going to affect your IAQ. If it is within your budget, choose carpeting that is considered non-toxic and thereby releases much fewer VOC emissions. If this is not possible, you should make sure to have the new carpeting opened and unraveled for 72 hours outdoors ahead of installation. Request that the glues that are used are non-toxic and VOC-free, and be sure to ventilate your home well for three days after installation.
Where to Avoid Having Carpeting
If you have moved into a home where there is carpeting in a frequently damp area, such as the kitchen or bathroom, you may want to consider having it removed. Carpeting in these types of areas is never a good idea since the dampness is an ideal environment for mold to grow. If you are thinking of adding carpeting to these areas of your home, instead opt for rugs that can be easily cleaned. By heading off moldy carpet issues before they can happen, you will be taking a great step towards having healthy indoor air.
Health Symptoms of Poor IAQ From Carpeting
If you think that you might be suffering from poor indoor air quality and feel like you have done everything to address it, it is time to think about your carpets. You could have a great HVAC system, an air purifier, and a UV light. If a whole slew of pollutants are embedded in your carpeting, these steps toward healthy IAQ are only going to do so much. To truly make a massive dent in the pollutants circulating around your home, you will have to find out if there is anything unwanted happening deep in your carpet.
Take mold, for example. There can literally be thousands of types of mold living in your carpet. An estimated 10% of people in the United States are allergic to some type of mold. With the many potential types of mold present in carpeting, it is likely that if you have a sensitivity to mold, its presence in carpeting is going to have an effect on you. Even if you do not have an allergy, breathing in mold can cause major respiratory issues and, in the most serious cases, death.
Some symptoms that can come from exposure to contaminants and pollutants in carpeting include:
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Eye irritation
- Sore throat
- Stuffy nose
- Asthma
- Itching
- Hives
If you are experiencing any of these types of symptoms, you are going to want to have your carpet tested immediately. You will also want to find a place to stay, if possible, while the carpeting is being tested. That way, you won’t breathe in mold spores while waiting for the results if they end up being positive. The same goes for other pollutants. Long-term exposure to poor-quality indoor air is linked to a variety of health issues. As a result, you should keep your home’s air as clean as possible.
Your Chatham Carpeting and IAQ Specialists
If you are in Chatham, NJ or the surrounding area, we want to make sure that your home is as comfortable for your family as it can be. We have been providing quality services to the people of Chatham since the year 2000, and we take great pride in our stellar reputation. Our technicians are NATE-certified. Proving we know what we’re doing isn’t enough, though. That is why we dedicate ourselves to providing the highest level of customer satisfaction and stand behind all of the work that we do. Our work and reputation have earned us an A+ with the Better Business Bureau. We’ve also won the Super Service Award from Angi List!
At Pipe Works Services, we want to be a one-stop shop for all of the needs in your home. That is why we offer a full array of heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical services. We can even help with ice damming to protect your roof.
For any of the services that Pipe Works Services provides, give our team a call today or fill out our handy online form.
