Is Your Carpet Dangerous?

There is nothing like lovely clean smell of freshly cleaned carpet. We spend a lot of time on the floor,  snoozing, playing and roughhousing with our kids or pets, especially during the winter, and having a clean carpet is a must. Carpet cleaning services are affordable, they come to our homes, they clean and dry the carpet in a very short time and leave the place in perfect order. What else can we possible ask? How about what chemicals they used to clean our carpets?

Toxic soup

Most carpet cleaners use a toxic soup that leaves behind dangerous fumes and residue that can seriously affect the health of your family. Some of the commonly used products contain perchloroethylene, a popular dry cleaning chemical known to cause nausea, dizziness and fatigue. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also warns of possible damage to liver and kidney. Naphthalene is another popular solvent used to dissolve dirt accumulated in carpets. It is manufactured from coal tar and is considered dangerous to the human central nervous system and is potentially carcinogenic. Some of the solvents used for dry carpet cleaning contain butyloxy ethanol, potentially causing damage to liver, central nervous system and kidneys.

 

This scary chemical soup is not only dangerous to your health but the environment as   well. Some carpet cleaning companies send the water used to rinse carpets straight down the drain, and into our water system. From there, the pollutants will find their way back to our lives.

Alternatives

Scared enough? Fortunately, there are safe alternatives. The market has responded to the demand of well-informed and environmentally aware consumers by offering a range of natural carpet and upholstery cleaners. Some of the popular brands are Simple Green, Nature Clean, Bi-O-Kleen, or Natural Citrus, made by Seventh Generation. Old-fashioned home cleaners like soda bicarbonate, or vinegar and water, or even tooth paste, are coming back in to use.

Many responsible dry cleaning companies are switching to more ” Ëœgreen” â„¢ or environmentally friendly solutions. In same cases, they are using ” Ëœgreen” â„¢ , non-toxic or plant based products like those mentioned before, or they are switching to new methods, like oxygenation.

Oxygenation literally means cleaning with water. The secret is in oxygenated water bubbles created in a special apparatus with an oxygenation chamber. These oxygenated water bubbles go through a special cell. In the cell, electric current forms a stream of very charged alkaline and acidic water which breaks down the dirt into small bits and washes it away from the carpet.

Be wary of green washing

If you are looking for a safe carpet cleaner, web or Yellow Pages might be of little use. Many professionals are advertising their ” Ëœall natural cleaning” â„¢ or ” Ëœgreen products” â„¢ trying to benefit from the demand for more environmentally safe cleaning. Ask your friends or relatives for recommendations, or at least ask a potential cleaner what kind of chemicals they are using. If they do not know, stay away from them.

Natural, eco-friendly or ” Ëœgreen” â„¢ carpet cleaning products are particularly important for the health of our toddlers and pets. They are small and are much closer to the ground than we are. They have smaller lungs and faster metabolisms.   Being constantly in direct contact with carpeting, kids and animals are also more vulnerable to serious toxic poisoning.

 

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

Sean M
2. October 2018
Sean M
2. October 2018
You removed the color I.e bleached the carpet.

Ivy Baker
10. May 2018
Ivy Baker
10. May 2018
I would have never thought about checking to see if my carpet is dangerous. I liked that you pointed out that it would be smart to ask friends and relatives for recommendations for good carpet cleaners. I know that I would want first-hand knowledge that someone is good.

Juli
3. April 2018
Juli
3. April 2018
Need help! Carpet is about 10 years old. Cleaned carpet with a tile cleaner! Totally accidental! It turned carpet blue! It's orginally grey! Help!

Lee
7. April 2017
Lee
7. April 2017
My wool carpet came back from being cleaned with a lingering smell that smells like burning rubber. After a year, the smell is still prevalent. Is this something I should be concerned about?

Jonathan
25. February 2017
Jonathan
25. February 2017
soap*

Webster McClean
8. October 2016
Webster McClean
8. October 2016
I agree that consumers should investigate companies that just use the term 'green cleaning' as a marketing ploy, but may not be totally green. They should be able to produce proof of the chemicals they are using so the consumer can research the products on their own.

Andy Harrison
14. March 2016
Andy Harrison
14. March 2016
If I was getting my carpet cleaned, I would for sure see about hiring someone that used chemicals that didn't leave residue. Like you said, these can linger in the carpet and cause health problems. Using some kind of "green" chemicals would be an option that I would be more than happy to see about using.

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Written by HealthStatus Team
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

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