Green Label Plus | Home Makeover Diva

Healthy Carpet Choices

09.14.2019 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Pamela writes,

Hello Diva, Please help me as I’m confused on which eco-friendly/healthy carpet to choose for my bedroom! I know wool is good but I cannot handle the idea of bugs leaving eggs in it. After reading the blog I know my choices are: Mohawk Smartstrand vs Dupont Sorona vs Beaulieu’s Bliss. I even read there was a product SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona but I’m still a bit confused! I do not have pets or children and no allergies however I am a cancer survivor and want to make sure I do not breathe in anything unhealthy/carcinogenic. Please help! Thank you!

Pamela, I can definitely understand being wary of wool carpet. Yes it’s an all natural choice, but when left to its own devices it does attract bugs. So to counter this they add an anti-moth treatment and now you’ve just added VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Typically speaking people who choose wool carpet are purchasing it because it is eco-friendly, not just because it’s one of the healthy carpet choices. Also I think wool is more popular for an area rug choice than wall to wall carpeting. At least that is when I usually opt for wool!

Carpet Padding

When you are looking at healthy carpet choices, don’t forget the padding. Because another thing that will help keep the VOC’s down is to go for a carpet pad that is low VOC’s as well. Depending on where you are looking for carpeting at, ask the salesperson to see their healthy choicer or eco-friendly carpet pad.

This will definitely NOT be a rebound Pad. Rebound pads are made up of recycled foam. And that is how it looks, like a bunch of different colored pieces of foam fused together. Typically speaking low VOC padding is one solid color and either green or white or feels like memory foam. So don’t forget to include low VOC padding in your carpet buying process.

Mohawk SmartStrand and SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona

When it comes to Mohawk SmartStrand and SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona, it’s easy to get confused. However it really is only one carpet! Mohawk is the brand, while SmartStrand is the line of carpeting. And all of the SmartStrand line is made out of DuPont Sorona fiber. Hopefully that makes more sense! I know that it’s a lot of names for just one carpet style.

Both SmartStrand and Bliss brands fall into the category of healthy carpet choices. Both are certified Green Label Plus by the Rug & Carpet Institute. What this means is that they are tested and have been proven to emit a very low amount of VOC’s. As far as which carpet brand to choose? Both are good. I can’t see any overwhelming reason to go with one over the other. It will just depend on what features you like best.

Personally, I like the SmartStrand because it is also eco friendly (made from 37% corn sugar) and very stain resistant. However the Bliss has some nice features as well, such as Magic Fresh and Silver Release. These two features probably aren’t as big of a deal for you, since you said you don’t have pets. But in our “two dog house”, I could use some help with pet odor! I know for a fact that Magic Fresh helps with odors in the home, I just don’t know if it actually makes the air cleaner to breath.

Carpet Indoor Air Quality

Since both of the carpet brands offer the indoor air quality you need, I’d choose your carpet based on what you like best. What feels the best? What is the best color? And what style do you like the best? Because your most important concern is having a healthy carpet! The rest is just what appeals to your sense of style!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe (diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog

Environmentally Friendly Carpet Tiles

04.22.2011 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Kelly writes:

Dear Diva, I’m looking for some environmentally friendly carpet tiles. But all I’m coming up with is the FLOR brand, are their any other brands or is FLOR my best bet? Thanks!

Kelly, when it comes to environmentally friendly carpet tiles, FLOR carpet tileshas definitely got the most choices and is the easiest to find. Over half of the links you find when you search for environmentally friendly carpet tiles lead you to blog posts about FLOR tiles and the other half take you to websites that don’t give a lot of information on a product. That said, if you’re looking for carpet tiles, I’d check out FLOR or Legato.

FLOR is the greenest choice in carpet tiles that I can find. The tiles meet Green Label Plus certification by the Carpet and Rug Institute, which means they emit very little VOCs if any at all. Another feature I love about FLOR tiles is that they recycle the old tiles. So if the time comes to where you need to replace old tiles, just contact FLOR and they will give you instructions on how to go about sending back the tiles for them to recycle. This type of commitment for their product to not end up in a land fill is inspiring. Add that to the fact that the new tiles contain Post-Industrial and Post-Consumer waste and that the manufacturing processes are as energy-efficient as possible and you’ve got an all around environmentally friendly product.

Add to all of this environmental responsibility the cool designs and FLOR carpet tiles would be my carpet tile of choice. There is even a rug kit that allows you to make a fake cow hide looking rug! If you are looking for something more traditional they have that too! There are a multitude of colors and designs that can be mixed and matched as you see fit.

These days there doesn’t seem to be much competition for FLOR tiles, as I stated above most of the talk is about FLOR or for companies that make green products but don’t really have their carpet tiles listed or shop-able. That said, another brand to check out is Legato by Milliken. I couldn’t find a lot of information about Legato carpet tiles, since they are not as popular as they once were. But they come in styles that are suitable for a wall to carpet look or an area rug. The only thing I can say for sure about them, is that like most carpet tiles they are environmentally friendly in the fact that you don’t have to replace the whole carpet if one get’s damaged, you can take up that 1 square and put a new one down.

The last manufacturer I found, is available at the Home Depot under the name Simply Seamless. The Simply Seamless carpet tiles are meant to be used in place of wall to wall carpeting only, unlike FLOR and Legato that can be used as area rugs. According to the info I was able to find on Simply Seamless, they’re manufactured by Berkshire Flooring. The carpet tiles have a carpet padding to them and that padding is an eco fiber cushion that is made of 100% recycled fiber.

No matter what which one you choose, these three carpet tile brands are sure to have the qualities that meet your needs. Whether you are looking for something contemporary and hip in an area rug or something more traditional like wall to wall carpet, there is a carpet tile for every need!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe (diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!

Best Carpet Choice For A Baby’s Room?

06.19.2010 by Amanda Hartley //

Today Samantha writes:

We are going to be having a baby in two months and with that, we are building up a nursery from scratch. I want everything to be as perfect as possible.

We have painted the nursery and used a no VOC paint (thanks to your articles). But what about carpet?

I have heard that some carpet fibers are better than others in terms of the VOC’s that they can give off and this freaks me out!

How can I be sure that I am making the best carpet choice for a baby’s room? Thx

Samantha, you’re absolutely right in that there are some carpet fibers that are better than others in terms of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). What you want to look for are carpets with the Carpet and Rug Institutes (CRI) “Green Label Plus” stamp. This label can be found on the back of carpet samples and it will let you know that you’ve chosen a very low VOC carpet.

In fact CRI’s Green Label Plus has so few VOCs that it exceeds the green building requirements dictated by California schools. We all know how strict California is compared to the rest of the country so with ratings like that you can be assured that the new carpet you are putting in your nursery is safe for your baby.

You might want to consider looking at Dupont Sorona or Beaulieu’s Bliss. These two carpets are both Green Label Plus rated. A percentage of Sorona is made out of corn and recycled materials. Beaulieu’s Bliss (also known as Puresque) has extra odor eliminators built right into the carpet.

No matter what style or color carpet you choose rest assures that as long as you stick to Green Label Plus you will choose a healthy carpet for your new bundle of joy’s nursery! And congratulations!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe(diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!