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January 21, 2012

Werner Braun: Where’s the beef?

Jamie Jones jamiejones@daltoncitizen.com

For almost two years, I’ve shared with you the ins-and-outs of the floor covering industry with this weekly column. Everyone at the Carpet and Rug Institute takes pride in his or her work, which includes promoting only the most up-to-date and factual information on soft floorcoverings.

For several years, one of the most difficult aspects of my job has been dealing with what I call myths about carpet. These myths come in the form of unproven statements, and sometimes, just plain distortions of fact. How these carpet-related myths began is unclear, but how they remain in circulation is less of a mystery.  

I recently heard another trade association (non-carpet) recommending that carpet not be installed in homes because of its “negative” effect on family members who have asthma and allergies. This isn’t the first time this myth has surfaced; in fact, it’s the most common one we hear at CRI.   

But this myth is unlike any other we encounter at CRI, because it has no basis in fact. There is no scientific study linking the rise of allergy and asthma to the use of carpet. In fact, multiple studies have been conducted all over the world that have all come to the same conclusion: there is no correlation between carpet and increased asthma and allergies.  

One of them is a 15-year Swedish study which found that when carpet usage in Sweden decreased by 70 percent, allergy reactions in the general population increased by 30 percent.

More than one study showed that carpet is helpful to people with asthma. In one 18-nation study of nearly 20,000 people, a statistical relationship was found to exist between carpeted bedrooms and reduced asthma and allergy symptoms and improved breathing. Because what falls to the carpet — such as allergens, common dust, pet dander and other pollutants — tends to stay on the carpet until it is vacuumed, unlike smooth surfaces that allow these particles to re-circulate in the room air.  

Properly maintained carpet also leads to improved air quality and a healthier indoor environment because regular vacuuming with a Carpet and Rug Institute-certified vacuum cleaner locks dust and particles inside the machine and removes them from the air you breathe.

Other studies have compared the distribution of airborne dust associated with normal activities on hard and soft flooring surfaces. Findings show that walking on hard surfaces disturbs more particles. These particles became airborne and enter the breathing zone. In contrast, carpeted surfaces trap more particles so that walking disturbs fewer particles. The result was less dust in the breathing zone over carpeted floors.

It may come as a surprise that something as simple as regular vacuuming can have such a big impact on the air you breathe. It may also come as a surprise that when we asked the trade association making the accusations against carpet for one study that supports carpet not being put into homes because of asthma and allergies, they couldn’t come up with one.  

If they can’t produce even one study, what qualifies them to recommend that carpet is bad for indoor air quality? What are they basing their recommendation on?

The bottom line from CRI is we will continue to fight these false allegations, and I will personally debate this myth — in any type of forum — as long as it exists.



Werner Braun is president of the Dalton-based Carpet and Rug Institute.

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