CRI Green Label Plus, Carpet, VOCs and Indoor Air Quality
Since 1992 the Carpet and Rug Institute has pioneered setting limits on carpet’s emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to establish a higher standard for indoor air quality. The Carpet and Rug Institutes explains how this program developed on its blog:
The Green Label program developed out of consumer and governmental concerns about carpet’s effect on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The original standard, developed in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, measured four compounds against an established criterion, as well as total volatile organic compounds, or TVOC.
Carpet, Asthma and Allergies. Myth or Reality?
We have all heard that the carpet in our homes may contribute to asthma and allergies. What is the truth? Myth or reality?
The Carpet and Rug Institute recently conducted a Survey of Asthma & Allergy Doctors. The CRI reported:
“While many doctors are still recommending carpet removal to their allergy and asthma patients, they were very open to information about proper carpet care and maintenance as a viable alternative to taking carpet out.”
So before you rip out all the carpet in your home you might want to read the latest (May 19, 2008) and most comprehensive report on the subject that backs up the CRI’s position on carpet and asthma. (more…)
Get Fresh Carpet Cleaning Accredited WoolSafe® Approved Service Provider by the WoolSafe® Organization
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Get Fresh Carpet Cleaning meets the high standards of the WoolSafe® Organization to become the only WoolSafe® Approved Service Provider in Calgary and all of Western Canada.
WoolSafe® Approved Service Providers Mark
Bamboo Flooring Guide
Teragren Signature Naturals
Bamboo is extremely strong, long-lasting and just plain exotic. Not only gorgeous to look at, it’s also one of the most green and environmentally friendly flooring products on the market today. If that isn’t enough, it also compares favorably to hardwood flooring in price.
Bamboo – the renewable resource
Because it is a natural, renewable resource, bamboo flooring is considered by many to be the logical flooring choice of the future. Categorized as a grass and not a tree, bamboo just might be the world’s most sustainable resource. It is the fastest growing grass and can you can actually watch it grow. Bamboo reaches maturity quickly and is ready for harvesting in about 4 t0 5 years. Bamboo does not need to be replanted after harvesting because its vast root system continually sprouts new shoots. Bamboo accomplishes all of this on it’s own, without the need for machinery, pesticides and fertilizers. Bamboo is also used to control soil erosion and control rain run off. It’s hard to think of anything negative things to say about this remarkable resource.
Processing bamboo for flooring
An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality
We hear a lot these days about VOCs. What are they?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) explains:
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.
EPA’s Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found levels of about a dozen common organic pollutants to be 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were located in rural or highly industrial areas. Additional TEAM studies indicate that while people are using products containing organic chemicals, they can expose themselves and others to very high pollutant levels, and elevated concentrations can persist in the air long after the activity is completed.
