The “new carpet smell” comes from a mix of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from materials like synthetic fibers, latex backing, and adhesives. Key chemicals include:
· 4-Phenylcyclohexene (4-PC): The primary source of the “new carpet” odor, linked to eye and respiratory tract irritation.
· Styrene and Formaldehyde: Used in carpet backing and binders, known to be irritants and potential carcinogens.
· Benzene and Toluene: Often found in adhesives, these are among the most harmful VOCs.
· Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs): Flame retardants added to many household materials. Cats with hyperthyroidism have shown PBDE levels three times higher than healthy cats.
· Perfluorochemicals (PFCs): Used in stain-resistant treatments. A study found dogs and cats had significantly higher levels than humans.
Not OP but it appears to be a warning about the off-gassing of brand new carpets that can be dangerous to cats.
Is it the carpets themselves? Or the glues / adhesives used to install them?
I don’t think glues are normally used to install carpet, unless it’s those like 2ft2ft squares.
Though, like the other person mentioned the VOCs from the carpet, and I’ll add the same from the underlayment.
Edit: actually they might use some adhesive under the underlayment now that I think about it.
I’ll be honest I just asked the question to an LLM and just wanted to hint at what was potentially dangerous about new carpets.
So all I can offer is to share the conversation in question with the LLM and advise caution on the reliability of the informations.
I checked some of the references but not all of them so as any LLM response, you should probably verify it.
Deepseek’s response :
https://chat.deepseek.com/share/k4o5j2jxvbwx9rt2n2
Excerpt :
The “new carpet smell” comes from a mix of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from materials like synthetic fibers, latex backing, and adhesives. Key chemicals include:
· 4-Phenylcyclohexene (4-PC): The primary source of the “new carpet” odor, linked to eye and respiratory tract irritation.
· Styrene and Formaldehyde: Used in carpet backing and binders, known to be irritants and potential carcinogens.
· Benzene and Toluene: Often found in adhesives, these are among the most harmful VOCs.
· Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs): Flame retardants added to many household materials. Cats with hyperthyroidism have shown PBDE levels three times higher than healthy cats.
· Perfluorochemicals (PFCs): Used in stain-resistant treatments. A study found dogs and cats had significantly higher levels than humans.