Getting new carpet. help!

[floiejo2]

So our house was very damaged by a really bad hail storm. It broke out windows, ruined carpet and drywall...Anyway we are now getting new carpet. I know carpet is very toxic and want to avoid as much as I can being exposed especially when it's brand new. We can't afford a "natural" carpet or wood floors. I will only be 6-7 weeks when we get it put in. I am planning on being gone for the installation and for 4+ days after. My dh will stay here and have all the windows open, fans going, and will vacuum twice a day to try to rid some of the dust and fumes. Is there anything else I can do? Any recommendations? Thank you!

[MamaMonica]

Moved to the Mindful Home

[livinzoo]

I'm not sure, but I have a parrot that goes into sneezing fits when she is around new carpet. With her I had to steam clean the floor once a month to prevent the sneezing fits. She sneezed over 30 times in a row and would fall off the perch and have white foam come out her nostrils. Sometimes you can find those click together floors pretty cheap and they are easy to install. Around here about a $1 sq/ft is a common price for them. After ripping out the carpet and seeing all of the dirt that was below them I will never have carpets again.

[Tilia]

Sounds like you have your bases covered. He will have to vacuum over and over and over and over. There are SO many stray fibers. Other than that, it sounds like the fans will help a lot.

[bender]

We got new carpet, and didn't have a huge issue with stray fibers or anything. The installers vacuumed before and after installation, and we had no issues. I also didn't notice a strong smell either. We got a recycled carpet made from soda bottles, so maybe that made a difference? It's super soft. I love it.

[corysmilk]

I am guessing the carpet is being replaced because it is coverd by insureance? Is there a way to get the company to put that money towards a wood- like floor? and you just pay the rest?
If that is what is going on??

[floiejo2]

Yes, it is covered by insurance because of the storm. There is just no way we can afford to do anything else right now so it's going to be carpet. We also have a rental house that got destroyed, so all of our extra money is tied up right now trying to get both houses fixed and with a new baby coming, we're trying to budget as much as possible.

[changingseasons]

Buy as many plants as you can afford to, and put them all over the house. They will help filter the air.

One book I have (The Complete Organic Pregnancy) lists these plants according to what chemicals they filter:
- aloe vera (formaldehyde)
- elephant ear philodendron (formaldehyde)
- English ivy (benzene)
- ficus (formaldehyde)
- golden pothos (carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde)
- peace lily (benzene, trichloreothylene)
- spider plant (carbon monoxide)

If you can get some of the plants that filter formaldehyde and benzene, those will be the most important for carpet fumes. But really, any cheap old plants that you buy will help in some way; they don't necessarily have to be from this list.

[mattemma04]

Been years since I researched this issue,but I remember carpeting to have *green* lables to show it had less outgassing. Look for that option.Not sure if berber is better than plush,but I would go with that.

I recall something about heating up the house and then airing it out to speed up some outgassing. For some carpeting it will take years.

If you experience headaches,sneezing,dizziness then it is probably the carpet.

There was a product you could sprinkle on carpets to pull toxins.Plants are a good idea.