No.

What you are breathing in, is the volatile organic compounds, chemicals used in manufacture, being released into the air, known as outgassing. BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), formaldehyde, Teflon, 4-phenylcyclohexine (4-PC), are just some of the nasties that you are probably breathing in.

You do not want to cover up the smell, but eliminate it as fast as possible. You are doing the right thing. It has been said that using a water extraction cleaning method will help speed up the process.

Do not run out and buy one of those "ionic air cleaners"! It will only make the problem worse. These devices create ozone and oxidation with certain coumpounds found in carpets will create aldehydes and ketones in the air.

Carpet manufacturers recommend removing birds from the house for a few days after new carpet has been laid down.

If you are sensitive to the odors, as they can cause breathing problems in some people, next time look for the green and white CRI "green label" on your carpets and furniture. Of course, sometimes the problem comes from the glue used to put down the carpets. Check for adhesives with low VOC emmisions that have the CRI green label.

I only have jute rugs in my home. I am very sensitive to the carpet chemicals. I figured out over the years, or rather the decades, a connection to my breathing problems and whether or not the restaurant I was working in was carpeted or not. At first I thought it was the pesticides that restaurants use or maybe the brand of cleaning chemicals, but there was a direct correlation between whether there was carpeting or not.

I have two friends who developed breathing problems after the places where they worked decided to switch from tile floors to carpeting. Another developed breathing problems when the apartment where he lived came in and changed out his old carpeting for new carpet.

Wow, I was going to say it's not a cleaning issue but an outgassing issue and it might be helpful if you could let us know what sort of carpet it is. But Bud has done an awesome job of explaining it.

I was told of a case where carpet was being installed in a public building and whoever organised such things took all the correct steps in finding out what would be used and making sure it would be alright to have it done during working hours. Unfortunately it was decided at the last minute to use a stronger glue on the stairs and the building had to be evacuated.

Bud, where could I find out more about what you said about ionic air cleaners?

Silly Me, hope it's much better soon.

thanks for the input. another forum recommended alternating high heat w/ opened windows to speed up the off-gassing. i'll try that today.

guess i just have to be patient with airing it out. i've only ever put down carpet once before and didn't have this problem.

Now I'm curious. It must have been a different type of carpet. I've heard of the high heat followed by opening the windows technique being used in commercial buildings. Good luck.

We chose wool carpet with no formaldehyde. That seemed to be the best thing we could find at the time. Interesting smell that reminded me not of sheep but camels lingered for a while.

Supposedly plants are good at cleaning up the gases from new carpeting. I too had new carpet put in recently in our new home and the toxic smell was driving me crazy. I finally brought in a number of large houseplants and the smell disappeared in a couple days, but it may have just been a coincidence.

So funny that you mentioned plants. I'd also remembered reading that they're great for taking impurities out of the air, and just a couple days ago I put a bunch of them in the room.

Posted by macbirch: Bud, where could I find out more about what you said about ionic air cleaners?
++++

I've posted before, in these forums about the danger of ionic air cleaners.

I've done a lot of reading so I can't give you just one website that covers everything.

Try Google using various combinations of search terms for 'ionic', 'aldehydes', 'carpet'. ' formaldehyde', 'green label' ect.

I like to start with governement websites when I do a search:

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html

Qutoe from EPA site:

For example, in a laboratory experiment that mixed ozone with chemicals from new carpet, ozone reduced many of these chemicals, including those which can produce new carpet odor. However, in the process, the reaction produced a variety of aldehydes, and the total concentration of organic chemicals in the air increased rather than decreased after the introduction of ozone (Weschler, et. al., 1992b). In addition to aldehydes, ozone may also increase indoor concentrations of formic acid (Zhang and Lioy, 1994), both of which can irritate the lungs if produced in sufficient amounts. Some of the potential by-products produced by ozoneÂs reactions with other chemicals are themselves very reactive and capable of producing irritating and corrosive by-products (Weschler and Shields, 1996, 1997a, 1997b). Given the complexity of the chemical reactions that occur, additional research is needed to more completely understand the complex interactions of indoor chemicals in the presence of ozone.

Here is one website to check:

http://www.allergyclean.com/article-formaldehyde.htm

Another, a bit more techie:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:LXzsGo4H0NYJ:aerosol.chem.uci.edu/PDF_Publications/Irvine/2006_Britigan_JAWMA_O3.pdf+ionic+air+cleaners+and+aldehydes+and+ketones&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=18&gl=us&client=opera

Misc:

http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/11084/11084.html

Lots more info out there if you look..........

Bud, I didn't even know I should be looking until I saw your comment. I mean you just assume that an air cleaner will clean the air, at least somewhat, certainly not create new problems. Thanks so much for the info.

Re plants, I read that in a few places. Based on NASA research if I remember correctly. Then I managed to buy a book about it but my library is piled all over the floor at the moment due to redecorating. Some plants are supposed to be better than others but the only one I can remember is spider plant.

I just bought a house that was freshly painted and carpeted about 5-6 weeks ago. The strong new carpet smell is still there! I've just spent my first night in the house and am worried that I've bought a toxic house! Shouldn't new carpet smell be gone by now? I'm sure the former owners used a cheap carpet -- should I replace it? Could it be something other than the carpet? Thank you.

The best plants to get rid of new carpet toxins are Golden Pothos, they are available at any home or garden store. They are unique because they are very good at respirating VOC's and getting them out of the air. There is a great book on plants and air quality called "How to Grow Fresh Air", it is a great break down of the benefits of house plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Grow Fresh Air

I don't have new carpet smell but I do have new couch smell! I'm wondering if charcoal can remove the smell? They sell a gel type charcoal at WM in the laundry accessories (not detergent) aisle. This is really burning my eyes and causing headaches for both my husband and me. BTW, dh is a carpet installer. I guess he's used to it (30 years) but I worry about the VOCs he's inhaled all these years :(
Monica

Plants are great but I've looked into the scientific research that showed that may be impractical because even small room would need 20+ plants to clean the air. And that assumed there is no source of new air toxins - like an off gassing new carpet. I'm all about each room having a few plants though!

We are closing on a house at the end of next month and the seller installed new cheap carpet before listing it. We will not be able to replace the carpet for at least a year so will seal the carpets with AFM Safecoat's 3 step sealing process. It will cost about $150-250 for the entire upstairs and basement, but should block out VOC's for a year, at which time we'll either reseal or ideally put in hardwoods, cork, or bamboo.

Its pretty funny to read all the complaints about the new carpet smell. I like it! Its like new car smell to me. It makes me feel like the house is fresh and new!

We bought a 30 yr old condo where a heavy smoker had lived. We painted with Kilz and regular paint, the walls and ceiling and then got the new carpet and pad. (its on a slab) and I hope the new carpet smell lasts forever. Sometimes I can still smell the "old person who smoked" smell and I wish the carpet smelled more. The carpet we got didn't really smell much at all. I think it is PET polyester. IT is going to be a rental, but for now our son and fiance live there. Maybe cheap carpet doesn't stink as much! They do have plants.

If you were a smoke and then saw this place after the furniture was out and pictures off the wall you would quit that moment. That gross stuff gets everywhere!

I just got a new area rug for our room so I'm looking for ways to get rid of the awful smell before it triggers a migraine. We left it open on the patio table for several days but it still has an oder. When our church got new carpeting, it was a year before I could attend services without triggering a migraine. If it's that hard on me, what must it be doing to our children? Why is such toxic stuff legal? I'm trying Borax. We've used it to get rid of fleas. Don't know if it will help with new carpet smell.

Cindy, If you had asthma, obstructive airway disease, and/or COPD, you wouldn't enjoy the new carpet smell at all.

I recently purchased a carpet for my baby's room. It came in beautiful, as described but the odor was very strong. I thought it was going to go away with time but it doesn't look like it.. I've had this carpet for over a month now. Everyday for the last 3 weeks I've been taking it outside to air for 6-7 hours. It helped a little but still not good enough to put in the baby's room. If you leave the carpet in the room with the windows closed, the smell of chemicals is going to fill the room overnight. I will try to return it if I still can.

I was wondering.....what about baking soda? I occasionally put baking soda on my carpet anyway because it takes away smells in anything.

I also had new carpet installed a week ago and the smell has been making me nauseous, dizzy and causing brain fog. I called the installer to tell him all of my problems. He said he has sold thousands of yards of this carpet and has never had a complaint. I admit that I have always been super sensitive to certain smells. I have been running a fan since it was put in and luckily can have every window in the house open due to the weather but even with all that the fumes permeate the house and I wake up with a migraine, nausea and brain fog each day. I’m hoping the store will remove the carpet and refund my money but if not It will be worth the loss to feel better again.I will have to use another material for the floor. Was good to read that I am not the only one who has a problem with toxic smells.

Earth Weave and Nature’s Carpet are 2 very good choices if you need 0 VOC carpeting.

Friends of ours installed regular carpeting throughout their home. The carpet was beautiful but we had to leave because the smell was horrible. It was months before we could stay longer than 10 minutes to visit. Our eyes and throats burned terribly. It was an eye opener for my husband who is a physician. We looked online to see if there was an a safer alternative and found Earth Weave and Nature’s Carpet. They also have 0 VOC padding.

First of all follow these steps to get rid of new carpet smell

1) Ventilation is a also key to make sure to open the windows and the doors so that enough fresh
air can circulate through the space.

2) Placing extra fans or other related things in the area to speed up the process can also be
helpful for this problem

3) Cranking up that heat so the day after the installation can be particularly effective as warm air
can helpfull to burn off the VOCs quicker.

4) Also try adding baking soda to the new carpet and letting it sit overnight.

5) Vacuum the baking soda up the next day and continue to vacuum the carpet every other day
until the bad smell begins to dissipate.

We bought an area rug made by Safavieh and it has a STRONG chemical smell to it, very much like floor paste wax. I discovered that the chemical toulene, used in some paste waxes, is also used in the latex that backs some rugs. We tried baking soda, no result. We ordered a product that's supposed to remove such odors, nothing happened. We had to get rid of the rug, couldn't return it because we had "treated" it! Please note that other rugs that we have from Safavieh do NOT have this problem. Some houseplants DO remove odors from the air by the way, but they don't neutralize them at the source. A bad rug will continue to off gas, even if houseplants keep the smell down. Toulene (banned in Cal.) has lots of lousy side effects when inhaled. A real shame that the latex backing used on affordable rugs can't be made without horrible smelling chemicals by now, in the 21st century.