There is a belief that allergens are in the carpet and that if someone is exposed to them it will make their conditions worse. In the mid 70’s the Swedes determined that there was link between carpet, asthma and allergies. They got rid of carpet over the next 10 to 15 years and switched to hard surface floors in Sweden because of their belief that carpet was somehow unhealthy. However what happened over that same time period mirroring the decline of carpet was the exponential increase in the incidence of asthma. If carpet was the supposed cause of asthma it should have gone down as its use decreased, however this didn’t happen.

Studies were conducted by the carpet industry that actually seeded carpet and hard surface flooring with dust particles and then people walked on both surfaces. What actually happened was that the dust particles became airborne from the surface of hard flooring and stayed put in carpet. The carpet actually traps the particles acting like a filter that doesn’t allow them to become airborne.

There were several independent studies done of patients in carpeted hospital rooms compared with those in non-carpeted rooms. To the surprise of the people doing the studies the patients in the carpeted rooms did better – a testament to the fact that carpet does not contribute to aggravating asthma and allergies. These studies have also been conducted in residential environments, schools and other facilities with the same results.

A study was also conducted at the University of Georgia to determine dermal transfer of dust or materials from hard service and carpet. 90 to 95% of what was on the hard surface flooring transferred onto skin as opposed to only 3 to 5% for carpet. Study after study concludes the same; carpet does not aggravate asthma and allergies and facts prove just the opposite. Also there is nothing in the make up or construction of carpet that causes asthma or allergies, if that was the case people in Dalton working in one of our mills and in their offices and lab would be suffering worse than anyone and that is not the case.