Can New Carpet Make You Sick?

A lot of home owners have a carpeted floor nowadays, and love their softness and coziness. But there are also rising health concerns among the public.  Is carpet bad for allergies? Could it make allergies worse?  The simple answer is, carpets may cause some health issues.  The Mayo Clinic reports that carpet can be a source of allergy causing irritants such as pollen, dust mites, and pet dander.  They propose hard surface flooring as an improvement that is easier to keep free of dust, pollen, and other allergens for your comfort. 

We already know, that carpet can be bad for allergies, so the following question would be, what can be done if you already have carpet in your home? In this article, we will discuss how to minimize carpet allergies by choosing carpet runners over a carpet, without having to remove and replace your carpet. Without further ado, let’s get started.

What is a Carpet Runner?

Carpet runners are plastic floor coverings that are placed on top of carpet.  They have little dimples or spikes on the back to help keep the runner in place on the carpet.  They come in many colors, sizes, and patterns to match your home décor and design tastes from simple to ornate.  They offer protection of your carpet from traffic, stains, and wear.  And most importantly, they offer a hard, easy to clean surface that stops allergens and dirt from being trapped in your carpet. 

We’ve discussed some of the downsides of having a carpet, let’s now discover 5 reasons why to opt for Plastic Carpet Runners instead.

5 reasons to choose Plastic Carpet Runners

1.     The first reason to choose a Plastic Carpet Runner instead of having bare carpet is cleanliness.

It is well known that carpeted floors accumulate microscopic irritants that are difficult to remove by routine vacuuming and shampooing. Several renowned health organizations such as the Mayo Clinic advise the use of hard surface flooring products in lieu of carpets or placed over the carpets to reduce the presence of these irritants in your home. This prevents dust, dirt, dust mites, and pollen that get tracked from the outdoors on shoes from embedding into the fibers of a carpet and serving as a reservoir of irritants that can be released over time.  

Floor mats and plastic floor runners are a great way to keep indoor flooring cleaner and protected while adding style to your home. In addition to reducing allergy concerns, plastic floor runners can also make your home more comfortable and enjoyable.

2.     Plastic Floor Runners Protect Against Allergies

Plastic carpet runners have the benefit that contaminates that do get tracked inside stay on the surface, and can be easily removed by simply wiping the surface. This helps protects against carpet allergies for those suffering from exposure to these irritants. Additionally, it is easy to disinfect the plastic carpet runner or plastic mat’s surface with common cleaning solutions. Thus, floor runners make it easier to clean your home thoroughly, all while protecting the carpet underneath from dirt and wear.

3.     Traction

Hard floors such as wood or tile are easy to clean alternatives to carpeted floors. However, these surfaces can be slippery for some pets, especially older dogs. Heavy objects and traffic on these hard floor surfaces can create damage that is costly to repair. Vinyl floor runners and mats protect the flooring and help provide better traction for pets and people. Noise will reverberate in a room that has hard flooring. Vinyl runners will also help attenuate noise in addition to providing protection and traction.

4.     The Importance of Materials in Plastic Floor Runners

However not all floor mats and runners are the same. Those made from carpet remnants with rubberized backing will also entrap the irritants in spite of repeated vacuuming also causing carpet allergies. Rubberized backing can degrade over time and create additional irritating contaminates that may become airborne and further reduce your home’s air quality.  

Mats made from recycled tires contain traces of arsenic, sulfur, lead and cadmium. Many vinyl products are made with phthalates which are known to cause reproductive harm. The State of California heavily regulates these chemicals and products that contain these chemicals under Proposition 65.  Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.  If you’re going to choose a plastic mat or runner, make sure you choose one which is California Proposition 65 compliant.

 5.     The last, but not least reason to opt for Carpet runners is…what? Beauty and Comfort?

Plastic floor runners and mats come in a variety of attractive colors and patterns to enhance your homes beauty and style, all while protecting your carpet from wear and tear, dirt, and stains. They are easily customizable to fit your home and needs.  Runners can easily be cut to length with scissors to perfectly match the dimensions of your room or hallway.  Easy to clean runners will save you time cleaning your carpets, freeing you to spend your time on more important things.  And by reducing dirt and allergens in your home with proper care and cleaning of your runners, your home will be more comfortable and enjoyable.

Resilia Brands Plastic Floor Runners

Resilia Brands manufacturers a wide range of vinyl flooring runners and mats in several attractive patterns and colors to match the décor of your space. All of our products meet the strict Proposition 65 chemical requirements and do not require the mandatory warning labels implemented within the State of California. Resilia Brands plastic carpet runners and mats are easily wiped clean with soap and water or you favorite cleaning solution helping to guard against carpet allergies. All of our products are made here in the United States and sold to the consumer direct to their door. 

Check our wide range of vinyl flooring runners in several attractive patterns and colors to match the décor of your space. Contact us and we will help you choose the right carpet runner tailored to your needs.