Ten questions concerning the implications of carpet on indoor chemistry and microbiology

Abstract

Carpet and rugs currently represent about half of the United States flooring market and offer many benefits as a flooring type. How carpets influence our exposure to both microorganisms and chemicals in indoor environments has important health implications but is not well understood. The goal of this manuscript is to consolidate what is known about how carpet impacts indoor chemistry and microbiology, as well as to identify the important research gaps that remain. After describing the current use of carpet indoors, questions focus on five specific areas: 1) indoor chemistry, 2) indoor microbiology, 3) resuspension and exposure, 4) current practices and future needs, and 5) sustainability. Overall, it is clear that carpet can influence our exposures to particles and volatile compounds in the indoor environment by acting as a direct source, as a reservoir of environmental contaminants, and as a surface supporting chemical and biological transformations. However, the health implications of these processes are not well known, nor how cleaning practices could be optimized to minimize potential negative impacts. Current standards and recommendations focus largely on carpets as a primary source of chemicals and on limiting moisture that would support microbial growth. Future research should consider enhancing knowledge related to the impact of carpet in the indoor environment and how we might improve the design and maintenance of this common material to reduce our exposure to harmful contaminants while retaining the benefits to consumers.

Occupant satisfaction with the indoor environment in seven commercial buildings in Singapore

“…Carpet is known to be one of the major VOC sources in workspaces due to emission from chemicals and supported chemical transformations. Sustainability concerns on proper carpet maintenance is encouraged [39]. Meanwhile, increasing ventilation rates in workspaces could reduce the intensity of odors, and enhance occupants' perceived air quality [40].…”

Modeling microbial growth in carpet dust exposed to diurnal variations in relative humidity using the “Time‐of‐Wetness” framework

“…Carpet can act as a reservoir for microbes in house dust 13 and constitutes about half of the flooring market in the United States 14 . Resuspension of dust from carpet is also generally higher than from solid flooring materials, which may increase human exposure 13 .…”

“…Carpet can act as a reservoir for microbes in house dust 13 and constitutes about half of the flooring market in the United States 14 . Resuspension of dust from carpet is also generally higher than from solid flooring materials, which may increase human exposure 13 . Microbes grow in house dust at increased relative humidity conditions, 15 with fungi able to grow at lower relative humidity levels than bacteria 16 .…”

Analysing indoor mycobiomes through a large‐scale citizen science study in Norway

“…However, a variety of internal secondary sources must be considered as well, such as organic materials (food, waste and potted plants), certain surfaces (drains and carpets) and occupants (humans and pets) (Adams et al, 2013b;Flannigan & Miller, 2011;Haines et al, 2019;Nevalainen et al, 2015;Rintala et al, 2012).…”