Celebrating 35 years of covering your floors!

With more attention being drawn to the quality of the air we breathe, many consumers are questioning which type of product should be installed in their home: a soft surface product (carpet), or a hard surface product (hardwood, laminate, etc.).  Traditionally, those with allergies and other respiratory issues have been advised to install hard surface flooring in their homes.  It was believed that this would help to reduce the amount of fine particulate matter, which irritates the airways, in the home.

Recently, the German Allergy and Asthma Society (DAAB) conducted a study of fine particulate levels indoors, paying special attention to the type of floor covering used.  The findings of this study were surprising:

(Excerpts from ALLERGIE konkret, 2/2005)

Fine dust is an especially bad problem for people with allergies.  Regardless of the type of dust inhaled, its particles are irritating because of their mechanical effect on the airways.  On previously-damaged bronchial systems, their effect is even stronger.

Together with the DAAB we [ALLERGIE konkret] conducted a study of fine particulate levels indoors, paying special attention to furnishings and use and especially the type of floor covering used.

The core result of the study is...clear:

In a room with a bare floor, the risk of more airborne fine particulate rises, while the use of wall-to-wall carpeting minimizes this risk.

This means that for especially sensitive people whose airways are already damaged, it is an essential preventive measure to select a floor covering that binds dust and does not release it into the air.