New Carpet: What's That Smell?

Is that smell safe? How do you get rid of it?

That new carpet smell for some is a reminder of hard work that was put into that recent home upgrade, but to many people it is an stench that want to get rid of sooner, rather than later. Don’t worry, we have a few tips to get that smell out of your home as fast as possible!

What’s the Smell Anyway?

The odor that can come along with laying down new carpets in your home are volatile organic compounds or VOCs. VOCs are frequently used in the manufacturing of products like house and craft paints, some glues, vinyl floors, and pressed-wood furniture. These VOCs can come from the synthetic latex in the carpet’s backing or from the padding or adhesives used to secure the carpet while installing it.

Don’t be alarmed! Carpets have some of the lowest VOC emissions of any household material on the market. You can also buy low-VOC or VOC-free carpets so that way you don’t have to deal with that smell. With that being said, the carpet padding and carpet adhesives do have a little higher VOC emissions.

The amount of VOCs new carpet can release will not affect the average person’s health. You should be fine as long as you follow the carpet manufacturer’s guidelines. These will recommend thoroughly ventilating the room where the new carpet was installed for between 3 to 5 days and not to use the room heavily during that time.

How to Get Rid of the Smell…

The first step to take in limiting the VOCs that cause that odor is choosing a low-VOC or non-VOC carpet. You can look for carpets that have a Green Label or a Green Label Plus label from the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI). These labels let you know that a carpet produces very low VOC emissions. You can also get carpet made from natural materials like wool and natural dyes which will help. Another thing that will help is asking your installer about using a non-adhesive method during that installation like a floating install. If that cannot be done, ask them to use a low VOC adhesive during the installation. Also, a few days before installing your new carpet, unroll it in a well ventilated room. If you can, tack it down to keep it flat. Doing this will release most of the VOC emissions before you install.

After your new carpet is installed, ventilate the room as much as you can for at least 72 hours. Open the windows but leave the doors to the room closed, and you should put fans in the room turned up to their highest settings. You can then give your new carpet a good vacuuming. This could be enough to get rid of any smells still lingering. If this doesn’t work, you can sprinkle baking soda on the carpet, let it sit for about 24 hours, and then vacuum again.