Questions about Carpet...

[GreenFlower]

Not sure if this is supposed to go here, or in the forum(s) about health. I get confused.

Anyway, my family has problems with new carpet fumes...bad problems. We want carpet in our upstairs bedroom/office, but have been looking into trying to get used carpet. We're just not having any luck.

What else can we use that is carpet, but isn't going to give off the horrible fumes?

[box_of_rain]

Originally Posted by GreenFlower

Not sure if this is supposed to go here, or in the forum(s) about health. I get confused.

Anyway, my family has problems with new carpet fumes...bad problems. We want carpet in our upstairs bedroom/office, but have been looking into trying to get used carpet. We're just not having any luck.

What else can we use that is carpet, but isn't going to give off the horrible fumes?

You can get carpet with a natural jute backing instead of the off-gassing foam backing.

We have it in our bedroom and it didn't cost any more than the toxic alternative. The colors are somewhat limited, though.

Or you could invest in a very large braided rug. We're considering this for our living room.

[GreenFlower]

thanks so much! Where do I find it? How do I ask about it? just ask for carpet with jute backing? Do most mainstream carpet places have this?

[mirlee]

We don't do carpet. Are area rugs not an option?

[GreenFlower]

well, the house we're doing it in is a complete rehab. The flooring that is there (or partially there, I should say), needs to be completely ripped out and replaced. We can't afford to spend $3,000 or even $2,000 on new flooring up there, since we're not planning to stay here that long. This is basically a home we are flipping, but living in for one year. So while I would love to pay for more expensive, healthier flooring, we really can't afford to do that in this home.

So I'm trying to find flooring (I guess it doesn't HAVE to be carpet...but that would be ideal) that is healthy and inexpensive, and not too complicated to purchase (as in, I can find it locally).

[thriftyqueen]

My DH says that you are always supposed to air out carpet before you install it. Most people don't do this, but by leaving it outside unrolled for a couple of days (make sure not to leave it out in the rain!!), you can reduce the amount of offgassing in your home considerably.

[box_of_rain]

Originally Posted by GreenFlower

thanks so much! Where do I find it? How do I ask about it? just ask for carpet with jute backing? Do most mainstream carpet places have this?

Yep. I went into a carpeting store and asked if they had the jute backed carpet. They only had some in stock in a yucky beige, so I ordered some blueish green and it only took about a week to come in.

I'd just call around, if I were you and find out who has it and price. We only have 1 carpet place that's less than an hour from us, so our decision was easy.

[jillian+1]

Originally Posted by GreenFlower

So I'm trying to find flooring (I guess it doesn't HAVE to be carpet...but that would be ideal) that is healthy and inexpensive, and not too complicated to purchase (as in, I can find it locally).

Um, some kind of Pergo knockoff? You could put it in yourself, even. Don't know where you are; have you tried like a Lumber Liquidators? They have a website. Sometimes you can get smoking deals at Home Depot and the like.