Toxins in new apartments?

[someguy]

So im looking to move.. been looking at some apartments..

They always boast; New paint! New Carpet! New Flooring!

But all of those things = off gassing toxic, cancer causing chemicals into the air

So im stuck between a rock and a hard place.. I want to move, and ive found a place thats nice and a great location but they just installed new laminate wood flooring/carpeting/paint and ive read that all of them off gas.. its like.. honestly I would rather have old floor/paint/carpet then be living in a room fool of chemicals for the next few years..

What do I do? I could see if the landlord would be willing to install eco friendly flooring/paint/carepting (good luck right?) or??

 

[ozzie]

Thats the thing, what do you do? even the MDF they use for skirtings and Architraves these days have chemical glues in them,and the trouble is a lot of the old linos had asbestos backing, and the old paints contained lead, so were we any better off, I like the Idea of tiled floors myself easy to clean and you can put a mat or rug down on top for a bit of warmth.

 

[kind2creatures]

Aside from getting a lot of green plants and air filters to clean the air, and a good hepa filter vacuum, and re-painting with a healthier green type (low VOC) paint, here's a site that offers some products that might help. https://organicgrace.com/home-afm

 

[someguy]

Ooh thanks for the heads up those look like some good products. have you ever used them?

Someone could have a good business "de toxing" peoples homes.. you would make a killing in LA I can tlel you taht.. or doing toxic appraisals! haha

 

[EarlyBird]

I had thought about replacing my carpet in the condo but decided I'd just keep using the somewhat
stained ones. :lol: I'll save a bunch of bucks too.

 

[kind2creatures]

Ooh thanks for the heads up those look like some good products. have you ever used them?

No, I've never used them so I can't personally recommend them. I just thought it might be an option for you, there's probably other people out there with similar products. Would be nice if they furnished apartments and homes with green products, healthy paints, hardwood floors, etc. You'd probably have to pay an arm and a leg for the rent though.

 

[mommysunshine]

I've come to accept that toxins are a part of our world whether we like it or not but you can still do the best you can in any situation. Regardless of where you live an air filter will help clear the air. I like using an ozone machine and a hepa filer. You can use activated charcoal and place that in hidden areas throughout the house to passively absorb the toxins. Some of the better air filters have activated charcoal in them. Open your windows 5 minutes in the morning to clear out your air in the house and do it again in the evening. We have tile throughout our house and I love that but if you have new carpet just keep filtering the air and keep some windows open if possible. Happy apartment hunting!

 

[someguy]

Thanks for the advice guys..

Yea im feeling like I dont have much of a choice at this point.. its true, we live in a toxic world.. I suppose all we can do is take precautions and eat right/ do out best.. This apartment I found is in the perfect location and otherwise its pretty nice, so I feel taht im being extreme not moving in there because they have new carpet/vinyl wood flooring.. most people probably think im crazy haha.. maybe I should just suck it up and move in and just get some plants, air filters... just the idea of sleeping in a room breathing in toxic chemicals bothers me.. eh

 

[jbo]

If you care about the air quality it's better to get rid of carpet all together. Dust mites love carpet, anything you spill or think you cleaned up is still in the carpet. It's why if you ever been to a place that a cat or dog peed on the floors, it's still there years later. Carpet is just something that feels good on your feet, but is really not good for your health, so if your looking for a place I think your better off with tile, laminate and wood floors, which can be cleaned and disinfected pretty easily.

I would invest in air cleaners and some plants if possible that are known to purify the air. Many people have worse air quality in their house than outside

 

[someguy]

mm yea thats true.. carpet sucks up stuff and keeps it floating around.. but ive got two air purifiers in my place...

also, its true carpets keep stuff like stains, but you guys gotta get one of these, it works really well and is so easy to use https://www.bissell.com/compact-carpet-deep-cleaners/ the spot bot, when you spill something you just place it on top of it, turn it on and leave it for a couple minutes, it soakes it, scrubs it soapss it dries it all for you.. does a really good job.. definitely helps keep carpets clean even from animal stains

 

[Mad Scientest]

[FONT=&quot]The major outgasing of all these new materials will occur when they are still relatively new. So the best thing to do is kept the rooms as well ventilated as possible until the majority of outgasing is over. [/FONT]