Carpet, The Dust Mite and Asthma

In recent years we have been fed a diet of sensationalist scare stories about carpets and dust mites and their alleged links to asthma. This stream of anti-carpet propaganda has advised, indeed urged, you to switch to wooden floors ostensibly 'in the interests of health'. It must be pointed out, however, that this was an orchestrated anti-carpet campaign that was part funded by a Swedish laminate flooring producer. Thus the advice to 'rip up the carpet' was far from independent and impartial as it purported to be.

The Carpet Foundation, the UK carpet manufacturing industry's lead body, in conjunction with the European Carpet Association, GuT, the German Association for environmentally friendly carpets, the Wool Research Organization of New Zealand and the Carpet and Rug Institute of the USA and Canada, has conducted a detailed review of the key scientific papers on asthma and floor-coverings. It proves conclusively that there is no scientific validity for suggesting that carpet is a major threat to your health, even those sensitive to the dust mite allergen. The main findings from this study are as follows –

 

  1. Asthma is a very complicated condition and experts cannot agree on any single cause for the illness. Dust mite allergen is only one of the causes of sensitization for asthma attacks.
     
  2. The main site for dust mites to live and to thrive in UK houses is in bedding.
     
  3. The conditions in carpet in UK homes is rarely suitable for large populations of dust mites to survive. Temperature and humidity are too low.
     
  4. The live dust mite does not pose a problem for asthma sufferers, but their fecal pellets contain the allergen which, on inhalation, triggers asthma attacks in sensitized individuals.
     
  5. The filter like properties of carpets holds allergen in the pile and significantly limits its potential for becoming airborne again. Hard floors allow allergen on the surface to re-circulate readily in the atmosphere through vibrations or movement of the air.
     
  6. Fresh air ventilation together with temperature and humidity control will significantly reduce dust mite populations and regular vacuum cleaning (with proper dust receptacles and filters) will remove most of the allergen load from the carpet.
     
  7. There is no scientific evidence to support the advice that the removal of carpet is clinically beneficial to asthma sufferers. No studies have ever been carried out which conclusively links a carpet free environment to clinical benefits for asthma sufferers. In fact in Sweden where health hysteria led to a 77% reduction in carpet use between 1975 and 1990 there was an increase of more than 300% in allergic disease over the same period.
     
  8. All materials emit gasses from V.O.C’s. (Volatile Organic Compounds) but tests have shown that carpet emits significantly lower levels than other indoor finishes and furnishings and as such, pose no threat to consumers.
     
  9. On the contrary wool pile carpet absorbs common gaseous airborne pollutants and generally improves indoor air quality. Carpet also traps other particulate pollutants, deposited through foot traffic or airborne settlement, holding them in the pile of the carpet, away from its surface until they can be removed by regular, normal vacuum cleaning.
     
  10. The manufacture of carpets in the UK, the US and Canada is controlled by environmental legislation and manufacturers recognize their responsibility towards the environment. All process emissions have to meet stringent regulations policed by the environment agency of that country. As with every other industry, where new evidence points to the undesirable effects of a process or chemical it is phased out to an agreed timescale. The carpet industry has an excellent record of compliance and improvement.
     
  11. It can be of no surprise that a manufactured product such as carpet will contain traces of the chemicals used in its production or the production of its raw materials. Some are applied deliberately, such as the mothproofing treatment Permethrin, and are essential for the carpet to be functional in the home. Others may be a residual, by-product or contaminant from raw material processing. In either case, the traces are minute and represent no health hazard to the consumer whatsoever. However, the industry is not standing still and is continually working to find processes and material suppliers capable of reducing or eliminating even these insignificant traces.