Do the chemicals used by professional carpet cleaners cause harm to people?

Can they cause people to get sick or – even worse – can they cause people to die?

The debate rages on, not only in private conversations but also on public and national forums.

When asked about the health benefits – or lack thereof – of carpet cleaning, do you have the evidence to prove that cleaning is beneficial?

It’s important to be informed.

The Hollywood saga

Kelly Preston, wife of actor John Travolta and spokesperson for the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC), a non-profit organization that educates parents about protecting children from the effects of chemicals, believes that carpet cleaning is harmful.

Preston, who was featured in a recent Time magazine article on this subject, believes that most chemicals used in the home are unhealthy and that carpet cleaning can be very dangerous to the health of children.

Ten years ago, Preston’s one-year-old son became sick with Kawasaki Syndrome, a potentially fatal respiratory disease that can cause cardiovascular complications. He eventually recovered.

While in the hospital Preston learned that the parents of other sick children had recently had their carpets cleaned – just like Preston herself.

Preston began a crusade to have all chemicals removed from her home and educate other parents about the dangers of various chemicals, including those used to clean carpets. She, as well as much of the medical community (doctors, nurses, allergists, etc.), believes that carpets are harmful and that people would be much wiser to remove them – instead of cleaning them.

Is she correct that carpet cleaning can facilitate Kawasaki Syndrome, or any other illness, for that matter?

The Kawasaki Syndrome debate

Kawasaki Syndrome first appeared in Japan in the 1960’s after being discovered by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, and has been found to mainly affect infants and young children (For more on Kawasaki Syndrome, see “The facts about Kawasaki Syndrome” in the sidebar).

Whether or not carpet cleaning can cause Kawasaki Syndrome has been debated since the illness first came into the conscience of the American public over 20 years ago after an outbreak of the disease:
 

   •  In 1982, an outbreak of Kawasaki Syndrome in Denver occurred with 23 cases reported.

   •  11 out of 23 of the children had been exposed to carpet cleaning within 30 days of the outbreak.

   •  12 of the 23 cases had no contact with carpet cleaning at all, yet the media made the link between the disease and carpet cleaning, creating widespread panic among parents.

The industry’s reaction…

The carpet cleaning industry has reacted with anger and frustration with those who have tried to theorize a link between carpet cleaning and the disease, as industry pros say there has never been the slightest bit of evidence to say this link exists.

Dr. Michael Berry, former deputy director of the National Center for Environmental Assessment at Research Triangle Park and current research professor at the University of North Carolina, where he is involved in the Environmental Studies program, and a well-known advocate of indoor air quality, is adamant that carpet cleaning poses no risk at all to human health.

This view is echoed by Werner Braun, president of the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), Dalton, GA, who says that he doesn’t know of any scientific studies that relate Kawasaki Syndrome to carpet cleaning and that the theory has not been proven.

Tom Hill, executive director, Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), Vancouver, WA, also says that the issue is a non-issue, and that it only keeps coming up because of the influence of people such as Travolta and Preston.

“The link basically goes back to an old study that was done by the Harvard School of Medicine in Denver,” says Hill. “However, studies show that the survey they took basically lumped everything from wiping up a spot to renting a machine and calling it carpet cleaning… they didn’t have any incident of the disease connected at all to a professional cleaning.”

Hill believes that Preston is having an emotional reaction to her child being sick, and that the only data that she has been shown that can attempt to find a link to anything is the Denver study from 20 years ago, and she gravitated to that theory.

Hill’s opinion is that the issue is not a carpet cleaning one. It’s certainly sad that children are being afflicted with the disease, he feels, but he believes that carpet cleaning does more to prevent and avoid childhood diseases than cause harm.

Bill Yeadon, an IICRC-approved instructor with Jon-Don, a carpet cleaning equipment and chemical supply company in Chicago, says that no matter what information you look at, there has been no mention of a link between Kawasaki Syndrome and carpet cleaning except for the infamous Denver study.

“It’s just amazing how we have been pulled into that from one study, and they said it was not conclusive at that point,” Yeadon said.

What should carpet cleaners do?

Do your customers know about the disease and the problems that it can cause? (For the results of a CM/Cleanfax Online Survey about the subject, see “Do your customers know about Kawasaki Syndrome” in the sidebar)?

You need to have information ready to give to them.

Even if they don’t know about this disease, learning about its influence on the carpet cleaning industry will prepare you for any future allegations.

To respond to the concerns and questions that are going to invariably be raised by customers, carpet cleaners need to be able to:

   •  Give solid medical information to their customers to calm their fears

   •  Be aware of various websites and literature that is available to provide to the customer

   •  Inform customers that there is no proven link between the two, but whenever cleaning carpet, it would be best to take safety precautions such as having a child or pet stay off the carpet until it is completely dry

   •  Check with the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) frequently to learn what is new regarding the subject

   •  Study the facts available on the Carpet and Rug Institute’s website (www.carpet-rug.com) to gain knowledge about various carpet-related subjects so that information can be relayed to customers

This carpet is making me itch…

What about the concern of multiple chemical sensitivities?        Different people may react in different ways to various chemicals, so know the facts when this issue comes up.

Some feel that certain chemicals can cause extreme allergic reactions in people. Is this an issue or a concern that you should be worried about? Is it even real?

Braun says no, and believes that while there have been several lawsuits involving multiple chemical sensitivity, there has not been a single court case that has accepted the principle; the mainstream medical community also has not subscribed to the theory.

He does not feel that carpet mills need to change the process used to make carpets as a result of these illnesses.

“Carpet is safe as it is produced today. There is no reason for the carpet mills to do anything different (in regards to the manufacturing process),” says Braun. “Our suppliers have done every conceivable type of toxicology study that you need to demonstrate the safety of the product that is manufactured.”

Carpet mills make a very safe product, he says, and have been voluntarily lowering levels of volatile organic compounds, among other measures, for the past 10 years.

“I would say that I find it extremely unlikely that there would be products out in the marketplace that would create severe reactions in people from an irritation perspective or sensitization perspective,” Braun states. “People are required to test their products to make sure they are safe for their intended end-use.”

When you talk about people’s reaction to chemicals, Braun says, there are many different manners in which people can react to chemicals used in cleaning.

There are people who may have irritation reactions where they get a chemical on their skin, and an irritation may result of this, not necessarily a chemical reaction, according to Braun.

If it looks dirty, it’s filthy!

If people do have reactions to the chemicals used in carpet cleaning, part of the reason may be that customers let their carpet get too dirty before cleaning them.

This causes the carpet cleaner to have to use more chemistry when he cleans the carpet, Yeadon says, but this could easily be avoided.

The rule of thumb, he states, is that if a carpet looks dirty, then it is probably filthy.

“If the average consumer would just religiously vacuum their carpets and then take some very simple precautions with spotting, that they wouldn’t need to see a professional cleaner or have their carpets cleaned in any way for years,” says Yeadon. “I realize that hurts us in the industry, but I don’t worry about it because people are never going to do preventative maintenance.”

It’s like using laundry detergent?

Although there may be some products used in carpet cleaning that people should be cautious with, most carpet cleaning chemicals are similar to detergents that would be used to clean clothes, says Yeadon and Dr. Aziz Ullah, president of FABPRO, Inc., in Baltimore.

“In most cases, I think water-based products are relatively safe, as most of the dangerous chemicals used by carpet cleaners in the past are no longer used,” says Ullah. “The chemicals used in carpet cleaning are very similar to those used to clean your clothes.”

Hill says while there are people who may have reactions to even the most basic of chemicals, most cleaning chemicals that are used in carpet cleaning are less toxic and dangerous than what a consumer can actually buy and put under their sink for their own cleaning chores at home.

Commercial products are formulated in professional strength, but then they are diluted in such quantity that when the carpet cleaner actually uses them they are not significant in regards to chemical sensitivity, according to Hill.

What about my allergies?

The medical community and carpet cleaning industry are at opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to how carpet can play a role in improving the air quality of indoor areas, as the medical community is still of the impression that carpet causes more problems in homes and buildings than any other floor surface.

Nurse Raggozzino, an allergist with Albany Ear, Nose & Throat Services, Albany, NY, recommends that her patients have all carpets removed from their homes. She says that carpets hold animal dander, dust, dust mites and mold particles (which carpet cleaning pros say is actually proof that carpets are more beneficial than hardwood floors), and can harm people that have allergies.

“Carpet just adds so much to the environment as far as allergy exposure goes,” says Raggozzino. “If a person does have carpet and has the financial ability to remove it, we recommend that they remove it, especially in their bedroom where they spend eight hours a day.”

Fill her up!

The carpet cleaning industry does not debate the medical community’s point about carpet acting as a sink (as Dr. Berry likes to refer to carpet) to hold dust, dirt and pollutants, but it says that the sink-like qualities of carpet help to protect people from getting sick; there is nothing in hardwood floors that can trap the dust and dander the way that carpet can. (See “The health benefits of carpet cleaning” in the sidebar.).

Carpet works much the same way as a furnace filter, Braun says, as the particles filter down through the surface of the carpet, and then are no longer inhaled or get into the eyes.

You need to empty the sink when it gets filled up too much with dirt, he states, just as you would do with a furnace filter, because you want the carpet to continue to pick up pollutants and contaminants so that it is not in the air available to be breathed in.

Like oil and water?

In one study on the Carpet and Rug Institute’s website, carpets were removed from commercial buildings in Sweden in the late 1970’s and replaced with hardwood floors.

Researchers attempted to determine whether the removal of carpet would result in a decrease in allergy levels of occupants of the buildings, but the opposite was true.

Over a 10-year period, allergy levels went up in the buildings, not down, as there was nothing in the hardwood floors that could trap the dirt, dust and contaminants that float through the air. (See “The CRI proves its case” in the sidebar).

Regarding the types of flooring that can be put in homes and buildings, Dr. Berry says that allergic reactions can occur at the same frequency in any type of environment if it is not effectively cleaned on a regular basis and managed with regards to pests and rodents.

“Most advice to remove carpeting is a well-intended prudent avoidance measure,” says Berry. “However, all too rarely is it properly advised by medical authorities to clean effectively on a scheduled basis… if that is done, there is no need to replace anything because there is limited exposure to allergens.”

He believes that effective cleaning in the form of maximum extraction and minimum residue reduces exposures to concentrated allergens and other pollutants that in turn reduce risks of adverse health effects.

According to Hill, there have been measures taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the CRI to determine the contamination in carpets before, during and after cleaning, and it has been found that carpet cleaning greatly reduces the contamination level of allergens and other pollutants.

“The allergists are a very big part of the staunch medical community, and their party line is to rip it (carpet) out, because they haven’t read the latest data,” says Hill. “They’re not up to speed on the facts.”

The benefits of carpet

Braun says that allergic asthmatic reactions are caused because pollutants get into people’s eyes, nose and lungs.

If you have the same number of allergens in a room that has carpet, he says, your exposure is going to be dramatically less because the carpet acts as a beneficial filter.

But with the room with the hard surface, particles easily become airborne.

“The doctors are flat wrong, and we are in the process of trying to convince them that their recommendation (to rip out carpets) is actually hurting their patients as opposed to helping them if they are telling them to take them out,” says Braun. “There are dramatic differences between the numbers of materials that are released into the air from people walking on carpet as opposed to walking on hard surface.”

Carpet cleaning is important, he says, because you want to refresh the filter-like properties of carpet so that it can continue to improve and create a healthier breathing environment.

Changing the world one person at a time

The CRI began one year ago to provide the asthma and allergy community with solid, proven information about the benefits of carpet – as opposed to hardwood floors. The urban legend of taking out carpet is “alive and well in the asthma and allergy physicians community,” says Braun.

The CRI asked a group of doctors and allergists this question: “Thinking specifically about carpet, do you believe that asthma and allergy can be triggered by carpet?”

   •  In March, 2003, 56 percent of respondents said yes.

   •  In December, 2003, after the CRI conducted an intensive marketing program with the respondents to provide them with studies of the health benefits of carpet, the number had dropped to 42 percent.

Braun says that the CRI is going to continue its efforts because it is the right thing to do and is going to make a big difference in the quality of life of people who suffer from allergy and asthma.