There has been certain controversy in recent years over rugs and carpets as a source of indoor air quality problems.
This began with an incident at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., where a number of employees fell ill following office renovations, which included the replacement of rugs and carpets.
Following this incident, a laboratory put a piece of carpet inside a chamber with mice, and this resulted in the mice dying.
Studies are still ongoing and this is an area which is extremely divided. One side says that 25% of a new carpet is toxic, while the other says that no toxic effects from carpets and rugs have been discovered.
However, it has been proven that carpets and rugs, and the glues and adhesives used to stick them to the floor emit VOCs and these levels must be minimised. To ensure a reduction in VOC levels, it is a good idea to store rugs and/or carpets in a warehouse in the weeks prior to their installation, and use non-toxic glues and adhesives with low emission levels.
Aside from these factors, it is certainly clear that rugs and carpets store particles and other pollutants.
