Carpet Cleaning Chemicals
With more and more people every day becoming concerned about the environment and what effects chemical laden products have on their own health, it is only natural that many people worry about what chemicals they are putting in their homes when they choose to clean their carpeting or have it professionally cleaned.
Here is a look at some of the most used carpet cleaning chemicals and how they can affect your health and whether or not there is an alternative to using these chemicals.
Chemicals Often Found in Carpet Cleaning Products
Various carpeting cleaning products carry various chemicals, but the following list of chemicals can be found in most carpet cleaning products.
- Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda
- Acetone
- Formaldehyde
- Pesticides
- Disinfectants
These chemicals all can produce vapors that when breathed in can cause some people to experience irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. In people with allergies or asthma or other respiratory conditions, they suffer from some pretty severe breathing difficulties. Other symptoms people experience from these chemical vapors are headaches and nausea and in a few cases even vomiting. Very young children and older people are most susceptible to these fumes.
If you are using carpet cleaning products with these chemicals, it is best to make sure that your home or the area where you are using these products is well ventilated both during application and for several hours afterward.
What If You Don’t Want to Use Carpet Cleaning Chemicals
Just because you don’t want to use these toxic carpet cleaning chemicals in your home doesn’t mean that you can’t have clean carpeting. Today, many green carpet cleaning chemicals don’t leave behind any toxic vapors. These products are available for both home and professional use and in fact, many professional carpet cleaners are choosing to use these green cleaning products more and more often.
Written by Taf Baig, an IICRC Approved Instructor.