New carpets - when can you sleep in the room?

[whereisthejoy]

Having new carpets installed soon and been reading that they need to off-gas for a few days. Of course will be ringing the installer in the morning to talk through, but wanted to see if anyone knew anything on here (anyone know any carpet guys?? ). I'm only concerned as we are doing my DC's room first (age 2). This won't be wool of course as impossible to clean.

I've never heard of this in my life, is this actually a thing?
I'm planning on getting a new carpet for the full house next month and would never in my life have thought of this before.
I've slept in a room with new carpets, although am now secretly glad dds carpet was down in her room before she was born just in case

When you put the bed back

Wool is brilliant to clean...

I've never done this (and I used to work in a carpet shoo). There are quite a lot of chemicals used in carpet production but it's more of a risk for those working in the industry, and a lot of the nastier chemicals have been outlawed now anyway.

I don't think this is a thing.

Never heard of this. We slept in our room the night the carpets were laid

Um, what?

Why would you not sleep there?

I've never done this and also wool carpets are easy to clean

No time at all, we slept in a room straight after new carpets, never heard anything to contrary

Really? I've had a few new carpets in my life, as had DS, and I've never heard of this. Surely if a thing the carpet fitter would have told me at the time... well I would hope so as my Dfiance was a carpet fitter who frequently changed our carpets

Yes it is a thing! Just one a lot of people don’t worry about.
Good ventilation. Personally I’d give it a few days at least.
We have wool as I was worried about this when reading up on manmade materials. They sprayed lots of glue underneath so it stunk for a few days!

I always do my carpets (and any other decorating like painting) before a holiday or weekend break so the smell dies down by the time we're back. I just leave the windows on the latch (but locked) so it can air. You really could sleep in it straight away though, it's not that bad. I'm just fussy!

Googled when can I put toddler back in her room and obviously stumbled across an article called "when carpets become deadly"

There's me down the rabbit hole of all the ways carpet can kill you.

My DH is sick of me

New carpet smell is the same as new car smell - a compound of chemical gases releasing over time.

There are quite a few articles if you google it.

I think my carpets smelled less after about a week, but I wasn't sleeping in there with them.

Wool is easy to clean???

Wonder if it's too late to change...

I’ve never heard of this.
Last time I laid carpets the windows were opened anyway to get rid of the paint smell.
Carpet laid in the morning and slept in their that same night. However I am one of those weirdos that don’t close windows

I would crack the window open and turn up the radiator too, if it has a controller, and leave for one night at least if possible. Does depend on if they use glue or not, but even our nailed - not glued - wool stair carpet smelled odd for a week or two

Wool is also loved by moths as my sister found out the hard way when she discovered holes in her expensive wool carpet!

Be aware that wool carpets encourage moths. Not the big ones like butterflies but the small 10mm clothes moths. Once you've got them you can't get rid, its a nightmare. They come in on the carpet.
I bought my house that already had wool carpets and took forever to get rid. Ended up getting the place and replacing every soft furnishings.
Carpet fitters said they never recommend wool carpets for this reason

I do love the new carpet smell and have never classed it as dangerous. Carpets fitted with glue (office carpets etc) may pause more of a risk. I am currently sitting in the house and the silcone smell from our newly fitted windows is vile and not sure I want to sleep in a bedroom with that smell tonight.

Haha okay wool idea has been killed off. Husband already attracts moths wherever he goes. We do have wool in the living room though

Recent new carpets here, all slept in the rooms the same day. I am very sensitive to chemical smells but it was fine. Always have the window open a crack as a minimum but really wasn’t an issue.

?Husband attracts moths?
(thinks: keeps wallet closed? he is really a giant insect? or made of wool?)

What?! We just had new carpets throughout the upstairs and we slept in the bedrooms that night, mostly because we have four people in a three bed house and there was no other option. But also it never occurred to me not to sleep in the rooms with the new carpet!

I guarantee you that the smell of new carpets isn’t deadly. Otherwise they wouldn’t be allowed by trading standards surely?

Slightly off topic, but if I was very rich with a very big house, I'd have one room which was kept empty of furniture, and fresh carpet laid every few months.

There's just something weirdly appealing about a freshly carpeted empty room!

It's true @mumwon - mosquitoes too. In our previous home loads of his t shirts got eaten by moths and I never saw anything of the sort in my clothes. On holiday (aah remember those days), although sleeping in the same room, mosquitoes ignore me and he wakes up with 50 bites 🤷🏻‍♀️