Question from L.H.
I have MCS, am allergic to carpet and dust (among other things), and my bedroom and sitting room have 25 yr old carpet in them. I can’t really afford to replace them with hardwood, and am too tired to find and move to a greener home (catch-22 =). Im considering just having the carpet removed and living with the bare wood underneath, but am concerned that that might not be any better, because of dust or toxins in the wood, chemicals disturbed during removal… any opinions as to which is worse: carpet or whatever is underneath (fiberboard of some kind I suspect)??
Debra’s Answer
I can answer this question from my own experience.
When I first learned I had MCS and needed to clean up my home environment, I lived in a condo with carpet over cement floors. I lived with my father, so I could only change my bedroom.
I realized the carpet had to go and I was very happy I removed it. I felt better right away, even though the floor below was paint-spattered cement.
Until I could afford to lay hardwood, I just covered the floor with an old sheet. It didn’t look very good, but I slept a lot better.
Of course, I don’t know the condition of your carpet or the condition of the floor below, but that was my experience.
