April 22nd, 2005
Can Stainmaster Carpeting Harm Pets?
Calling All Research (and Carpeting) Experts: I don’t usually get too personal here but I have a pretty awful situation I could use some technical help with. Or maybe it’s chemical or scientific help. Here’s the story:
This week I finally got some new carpeting installed. Quick background: I bought a funky weekend place in Sonoma (with my CNET money pre-crash thank God) and it had the most horrible “salmon” aka “pink” carpeting throughout that I could not afford to replace until now. This week the installers came and I brought my cat up from San Francisco with me for company. The job was a two day job that of course turned into three, and yesterday she appeared after the installers left looking literally like a different cat. I honestly thought she went blind. She was disoriented, slipped off the couch like she couldn’t see the edges, paced the room back and forth until she would hit a wall and turn, and it was so upsetting and serious that I ended up having to drive to the only 24 hour animal hospital over an hour away where they immediately decided to keep her there for a battery of tests and observation.
This morning according to the hospital she showed signs of improving and now they think it might be the carpeting. (Last night they said it was impossible.) I went online and any Google search I could find on Stainmaster and cats turned up a bunch of respiratory stuff about birds. So my questions to the many smart scientists and home improvement experts in this audience are:
–Do carpet installers use glue or something toxic she could have eaten while hiding?
–Can walking on new super stain treated carpet harm an animal that licks and grooms itself as much as a cat?
–Should I ever bring her back to Sonoma now that the new carpeting is in?
Anyway, I apologize for not posting anything truly technical today. If you can do a beter Google search or know more about carpet technology, I would really appreciate it. My cat is 15 as of this psat Feb, and very small - about 6 pounds. Until yesterday she has been more active and nimble than cats half her age and her last medical exam showed no sign of any problem more than being a bit underweight. I have to leave now and go pick her up and drive back to the city and then back out to Sonoma to supervise the carpeting, so unfortunately that will be it for today from me. I feel bad because this week RealTechNews.com has had record traffic and I wanted to build on the wave, but I thank you for your understanding.
Ah science…sometimes it sure can bite you when you least expect it. If you find out anything please let me know. Thank you!
–Alice
Al says:
Really sorry about your cat. I’m a retired analytical chemist with quite a lot of toxicology behind me. You know that odd smell that new carpet has? If you have a synthetic fiber carpet it’s likely due to the urea formaldehyde resin that is used as an ingredient in the compounds that the carpet is woven out of. This is a problem for kids at the crawling stage too. Their noses are right next to the floor and they develop symptoms of lethargy and runny noses and general cold like symptoms. Your cat’s nose is at about the same height,right in the most concentrated amount of the outgassing materials and she may be suffering from a toxic effect of the outgassing. You might want to mention that to your vet. Mostly carpet is stretched and hooked onto tack bars and adhesive isn’t generally involved. I hope your cat is all better soon.
April 22nd, 2005 at 1:38 pm
David says:
That problem would go away after a while, right?
April 22nd, 2005 at 1:59 pm
Alice says:
Thanks Al. I will mention that to the vet. I am hoping that this is not a permanent situation. Do you think she will recover?
April 22nd, 2005 at 4:34 pm
Glen says:
I am not a chemist but I am an Aerospace Eng. I would defer to Al if he says different. But yes the outgassing will go away. Also you may want to not that enginered lumber (ie MDF, OSB, Partical board) all have the same problem. The aircraft industry will acctually bake the inside of new aircraft to get over the problem quicker. So turning up your heat for a day or so would hurry the process along.
April 22nd, 2005 at 4:54 pm
jason says:
Open windows. Open windows. Open windows.
The outgassing of formaldehyde in new carpeting is very very harmful to you and your cat. It has been known to cause serious respiratory and nervous system problems.
Fresh air (and plenty of it) will help flush this poison out of your home. I’d also recommend having ChemDry clean the carpets (even though they’re ‘clean’ now). The ChemDry process is able to get a lot of chemical residue out of carpeting. (The ChemDry name is a misnomer - it’s not a chemical cleaning process at all. It’s very bio-friendly and very effective.)
April 22nd, 2005 at 5:05 pm
Peter says:
Sorry to hear about your cat. Having installed carpet for many years, I can positively say that most new carpets due out gas due to the treatment of the fibers. It is not due to the backing or the glue used. Most carpets use latex based adhesives and silica. What most people don’t realize is that many carpets that are treated for stain resistance contain the wonderful chemical Teflon. This chemical, if ingested is toxic. In fact, at the Dupont manufacturing facility in West Virginia not only is the plant contaminated, but many of the employees have cancer. There is on going litigation. Teflon is used in many things besides carpet, like cookware. It is known that above 400 degrees the chemical is release into the air.
To air out your carpet, vacuum it daily, use a hepa filter if you have one. Open your windows during the day to air out the house. Try not to let your room get below 50 degrees, this could affect your carpet stretch. Hopefully, your cat will recover!
April 22nd, 2005 at 5:33 pm
Grey Hodge says:
My mother has severe asthma, and in the lat 80’s/early 90’s is was so sensitive the outgassing of these carpets caused her extreme problems. We had a problem with a leak that necessitated a replacement of the carpeting in our townhouse. The landlord replaced it with new Stainmaster stuff, and the problems began. They replaced it with hardwood flooring, but then coated it with polyurethane, so we wound up having to move. Yes, it’s bad for the cat, yes, it’s bad for you too. Like Peter said, ther eis ongoing litigation, and many people have these reactions, so I’m not surprised a cat would either.
Yes, it does eventually wear out, but like Jason said, get the carpeting cleaned a few times, if you can afford it. I’d say twice, personally. Your cat should recover just fine though. Not taking the cat there might not be enough if you don’t get it cleaned, as the chemicals can stick to your clothes, and possibly affect the cat if she’s very sensitive to the chemicals. I wouldn’t buy those chamically treated carpets, personally. Hope the cat feels better soon.
April 22nd, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Al says:
Yes, the outgassing will end, often after several months, and if this is the problem with your cat she will improve as soon as she is removed from the exposure. The open windows idea is a good one. Move as much fresh air through the place as you can.
April 22nd, 2005 at 11:24 pm
Jim Frost says:
This is reasonably accurate and informative:
http://www.hhinst.com/Artfloor.html
My personal experience is that the “new carpet smell” goes away within a couple of weeks. YMMV, but opening windows or having your cat visit someone else for a few weeks will likely do the trick.
jim
April 23rd, 2005 at 6:01 am
degustibus says:
I think it’s an excellent tech column — a good example of the unintended consequences of technological innovation.
Also first instance I’ve seen of a cat functioning as a miner’s canary.
April 23rd, 2005 at 9:42 am
Alice says:
First, I want to thank everyone not only for such immediate support, but for being so smart and knowledgeable in areas have literally no expertise in. You have no idea what that means to me, especially coming from the world of computer magazines that are very one sided. You publish your info and people read it and maybe now and then someone writes in with a comment, but how often do you get to actually ask your own readers a question you can’t answer. This is what it is all about.
After the hosital, I took my cat to a relative’s house rather than bring her back to Sonoma. It was too far to drive from the animal hospital to San Francisco and back to Sonoma, so luckily I had someone nearby. I could not believe how much better she was. Even at the vet’s she walked around the exam room without bumping into walls, sniffed things and looked up at anyone who came in the room - something like night and day from the night before where it was like she was blind. I just feel so thankful and also so horrified that I brought her to the house while this work was being done.
Anyway, thank you SO much. You have no idea what this meant. I value your support and your incredible range of knowledge more than you will ever know. Thank you. –Alice
April 24th, 2005 at 12:13 am
Ean Kingston says:
Alice,
I’m glad to hear your cat is doing better. You can help cut down on the toxins coming from your carpet a bit more by giving the rugs a good steam cleaning. That will help get the toxins out faster than letting them come out naturally.
Unfortunately, steam-cleaning can also remove some of the stain-resistance of your carpet.
The first hint I got from some friends of my parents who had a similar problem with a new-born they had.
The second comes from a friend who used to work in the carpet cleaning business.
April 25th, 2005 at 9:25 am
Al says:
Hooray for your cat! Glad she’s better. Does this cat have a name?
April 25th, 2005 at 10:56 am
Alice says:
I am embarassed to tell her name because it will instantly kill my image of being a no holds barred tech jounralist unfarid to take on Microsofta nd Intel. But, her name is …Softie.
April 25th, 2005 at 11:30 am
Al says:
;)
April 25th, 2005 at 3:44 pm
Alice says:
Told you!
April 25th, 2005 at 5:33 pm
Proto says:
My cat’s name is “Analog as opposed to digital”.
Most people just call her Annie.
April 27th, 2005 at 8:14 am
Freud says:
You posted this archive without giving the follow-up on what happened.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Tracy says:
Alice - glad your cat is better! I have 3 indoor cats myself, and am about to recarpet several rooms - and am desperate for some sound advice on what TYPE of carpet is best for cats (i.e. snag and stain resistant). I happened across this website in trying to research this topic - but have had no luck. Any advice would be MOST appreciated!
July 12th, 2007 at 12:07 pm