Many homeowners enjoy the look and comfort of adding carpet to their homes, however, in the past, carpet has not been very healthy for the home occupants or the environment.
Today, there are many options available when choosing eco-friendly carpeting to be installed in a green home. Many carpet manufacturers are developing carpeting made from sustainable fibers like corn, wool, and sea-grass or recycled materials like post consumer waste.
Mohawk flooring has been manufacturing an innovative form of carpeting, known as everSTRAND, for several years. This type of carpeting is created from post consumer waste, like PET containers, when the waste is turned into synthetic carpet fiber.
By including recycling programs, renewable fuel sources and emission reduction into their product lines, they have stopped more than three billion pounds of waste from ending up in a landfill each year. Mohawk is currently joining with DuPont to create a carpet that is extremely durable with stain protection and is also manufactured in part with renewable corn sources instead of petroleum.
Another variety of eco-friendly carpeting is created by GreenFloors. This company uses post consumer recycled containers in their carpeting which keeps about forty plastic containers out of a landfill per every square yard.
The method that is used to dye the carpeting is also less polluting than other methods and requires much less energy. Other manufacturers, including Shaw Flooring, are now using carpet recycling centers to turn old, worn out carpet into new eco-friendly carpeting. Corn carpet is another great option as it uses corn to create fibers that are spun into carpet yarn.
There are many feasible ways to reduce the impact that carpeting has on the environment. Carpet tiles offer the ability to replace only small pieces that may be worn instead of replacing an entire room of carpeting. For those that already have carpet installed, a non-toxic carpet finish can be used to seal the carpet and prevent the chemicals contained within from being released into the air.
As for carpet padding, Eco Products manufactures cotton padding which is 100% recycled and other companies offer pads from recycled rags. Many options are quickly becoming readily available for eco-friendly carpets. These products can still give the home a traditional sense of beauty and comfort, but at a much lower risk to the environment.
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Christine Cooney
Christine has over a decade of experience as a house plan and floor plan expert. Outside of providing her expertise to customers to help them find and build their dream homes, her passion and knowledge of the home building industry allows Christine to guide families and builders through all of the important steps from finding plans to building custom homes that meet the expectations of today’s new home owner. Christine’s years of knowledge of the diverse trends and needs of the modern homeowner has made her into an authoritative and trusted voice in the online house plan community..