Occasionally I hear from homeowners with questions about the new carpet smell. As a carpet fan, I know a lot about this issue. What is the reason for that problem? Is it dangerous for folks? How to get rid of the new carpet smell? I know it all! Just keep up reading.
As a general rule, the new carpet smell goes away within 1-2 days. In the worst case, it can last up to 5 days. The chemical substances, which cause this smell, are so-called binders, which are used to hold the rug together and prevent it from slipping on the floor. This odor does no harm to folks. It can become a problem only for people, sensitive to different smells. To get rid of the smell faster, you can ventilate the room. There are other ways to get the smell off the carpet faster.
What Causes New Carpet Smell?
I know, it seems strange that a new carpet has some chemical smell. When the carpet owner is inexperienced, he may think that this smell is dangerous. I want to explain to you, what causes that “new carpet odor”.
In fact, a volatile organic compound (or VOC) causes the new carpet to smell. There are many various kinds of VOCs, but the one, which causes the new carpet smell, is called 4-phenyl cyclohexane or 4-PCH. It serves as a great binder and that’s why manufacturers use it to hold the carpet together and prevent it from slipping.
Is It Dangerous To Sleep in the Room with a New Carpet?
I am sure, lots of potential carpet owners are afraid of various chemical substances. They think that the new carpet smell can be the reason for allergy, headache,s or sinus. “Is it safe to put a new carpet in the bedroom?” they usually ask me in their letters.
You should know, that your new carpet is not dangerous for your health! Each high-quality carpet, which you’ve bought in a reliable shop, owns the certification, given by Environment Protection Agency (EPA). It is evidence that carpet doesn’t contain any substances, which can do you any harm. And 4-PCH, which is the reason for the new carpet smell, has the permissible concentration.
Nevertheless, I want to warn my readers, that sometimes you shouldn’t ignore a new carpet smell. Read further to know!
Why Does a New Carpet Have a Smell? Other Reasons
As I’ve said, the smell of the new carpet disappears within 1-days after you’ve brought it into your house. But some of my readers complain that they feel a strong chemical smell even longer. I’ve made a deep exploration and now I can share with you 2 reasons for it.
1. The low quality of the carpet material
Carpet lovers know that these bright things, which cover our floor, can be very different. There are carpets, made of natural or synthetic fabric. Besides, they can be hand-made or machine-made. All these carpets have different reasons for their odor.
- Synthetic carpet
Such items are usually not expensive because of their low quality. I always advise my readers to check the certificate of quality before they pay for the carpet. But very often people become so excited to get a new rug that they forget this simple rule. Such carpet has a sharp smell, which the future owner notices even in the shop. At home, this odor lasts for weeks and causes allergies and headaches.
CAUTION
Sometimes cheap low-quality carpets can cause strong allergic reactions, up to edema. In this case, I recommend you get rid of the carpet, no matter how expensive it was for you. Otherwise, you can return it to the shop, if you have kept the paycheck.
- Machine-made carpet
The machine-made carpets can smell for more than 2 days. The reason of it is that manufacturers impregnated the carpet with special chemicals to improve its performance. Sometimes they impregnate the carpet with anti-allergenic or anti-static substances. The other chemicals prevent the carpet from slipping on the floor. In this case, the rug smell is not dangerous. It will disappear in a week or two.
2. Incorrect storage conditions of the carpet
Carpets, which are made of natural fiber, absorb smells intensively. That’s why, if the shop workers didn’t care about the right storage conditions and kept the carpet in the damp room, it could become smelly.
In this case, it is better to take the carpet to a dry-cleaner, in spite of the fact that it is new.
But if you are sure, that your new carpet is of the highest quality, but still its smell annoys you, I can help you. Read about 6 easy steps to get rid of a new carpet smell.
6 Easy Steps to Reduce New Carpet Smell
While a new carpet serves as a great decoration of the room, its smell can cause a real problem. I’ve already mentioned that the new carpet scent is not dangerous and you can simply ignore it if it doesn’t disturb you. But if you or the members of your family feel uncomfortable because of the carpet odor, these 6 steps will help you to reduce it.
1. Air the room
The shortest way to get rid of foreign smells is to ventilate the room regularly. The flow of the fresh air will remove from your house the chemical smell of the new carpet. To do it, just open all windows and doors in the premise, where the new carpet lies.
2. Turn on the air conditioner, blower, or heater
As you have guessed, the circulation of the air in the room is a good idea to reduce the smell of the new rug. So, if you have the blower or air conditioner in your household, just turn it on for a couple of hours. During the cold season, you can turn on the heater for the same purpose. Thus, the new carpet smell disappears faster.
3. Vacuum the carpet
To vacuum the new rug is always a good idea. You’ll get the chemical smell away faster, if you clean your carpet carefully with a powerful vacuum cleaner. It will do you a lot of good in any case – it’s always a good idea to collect the invisible dust from your carpet. To find vacuum cleaners, suitable for this purpose, read “The Best 5 Upright Vacuum Cleaners”.
4. Sprinkle your new carpet with baking soda
Baking soda is one of the substances, which can absorb foreign smells. So, sprinkle baking soda on the new carpet in one layer and leave for several hours or even for a night. After that, you should collect the baking soda with a vacuum cleaner. It will reduce the new rug smell.
5. Try steam cleaning
As usual, I don’t recommend cleaning the new carpet with steam. Do it only in case the new rug smell lasts longer than 2 days, and if it disturbs you and your family members. If you have a steam cleaning machine at home, you can do this job yourself. Otherwise, you can rent it or hire a professional from the carpet cleaning company. Look through the list of the best steamers, which I’ve prepared for you.
6. Use an apple as the powerful odor absorbing instrument (a secret method)
There’s also one more secret weapon, which my granny used to get rid of the new carpet smell. An apple is a powerful bad smell fighter. Cut an apple into 2-4 equal pieces. Take a bowl of fresh cold water and put the apple pieces there. Put the bowls with apples in the room, where the new carpet lies for the whole night. The apple will absorb the new carpet smell. Besides, it will refresh the air in the room, having filled it with a delicate apple aroma.
Final Thoughts
So, you have already learned that the new carpet smell is not harmful. Many people ignore this odor during 1-2 days, till it completely disappears. But in some cases, the bad smell can be the evidence of the low quality of the carpet. There are six ways to get rid of the new carpet odor faster. You can use baking soda for that purpose or use any other method in the list mentioned above.