Believe it or not, carpeting is one of the greatest contributors to indoor air pollution.
One of the commonest health problems in a house is allergies, and carpeting are nearly an ideal environment for molds, dust mites and mildew.
Not just that, but the modern wall-to wall carpeting in today’s houses are made of synthetic fibers dyed and treated with chemicals (fungicides, soil repellents and pesticides, anyone?) and bonded to synthetic backing with chemical adhesives. All the materials discharge hundreds of Volatile Organic Compounds as they age, in a process called out-gassing. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) can be mutagens, irritants and carcinogens. Not the ideal thing to get in your home, to say the least.
Carpet additionally attracts and keeps all that your household members and also you track in the house in the bottom outside- in flaking bacteria, insects, house exterior paint, yard and yard chemicals along with other unhealthy debris, soil, lead dust found. Not to mention food crumbs, hair and skin particles that are dead.
Obtaining a wall-to-wall carpet 100% clean is almost hopeless (ever rented one of those steam-cleaners to scrub your carpet and cleaned precisely the same place over and over, every time seeing more dirt come out?) and trying to clean causes its own problems. Vacuuming stirs up mold spores and airborne dust. Shampooing can leave a moist carpeting encouraging more mold development and also the shampoo may have irritating or even poisonous substances added.
At the other end of the floor covering well-being spectrum is ceramic tile. It is made from natural clay stuff fired in a kiln. A tile varnished with non leaded glaze is impervious to bacteria and mold and is well tolerated by chemically sensitive individuals.
Ceramic tile is bonded to the foundation flooring -toxicity thin set mortar, and may be grouted with homemade, additive-free grout. 2 parts dry, clean sand added and mixed with 1 part Portland cement can be prepared to water to form a slow, damp curing grout.
Although a ceramic tile flooring may be expensive up front, due to the labor-intensive installation, they are quite long-lasting and long lasting will be considered as relatively affordable in the future, and if properly kept.