Dangers Of New Carpet Fumes

4 pc is used in the latex backing of 95 of us carpets.

Dangers of new carpet fumes.

The smell of new carpet can not only be hazardous to the health of those exposed but it can also be very irritating to smell in your home. There are many different types of vocs but the one related to new carpet odor is 4 phenylcyclohexene 4 pch a by product of the synthetic latex binders used to hold the carpet backing together. The chemicals that are used in carpeting will release into the air through off gassing that will leave behind a strong odor that will be very noticeable in the environment. Levels of 4 pc to 20 parts per billion ppb have been mea sured in new carpet.

This is the chemical that creates new car pet smell four days after installation levels fall to about 10 ppb and after about two months levels decrease to approximately 1 to 2 ppb. Vocs are what create new car smell new carpet smell and the smell that you probably don t enjoy so much after you paint a room. Carpet adhesive is spread over the entire surface and is usually sb latex. Other compounds that affect your health are adhesives flame retardants and stain protectors.

The vocs responsible for new carpet smell are 4 phenylcyclohexene 4 pch and to a lesser extent styrene. As a new carpet gradually releases or off gasses chemical residue the chemicals enter the air where we can smell them. You can smell 4 pc down to about 5 ppb. Within a few days to a few weeks these fumes dissipate and the carpet no longer smells.