Non-toxic carpet that won’t get trashed by a toddler

[Lullabybutterfly]

I’ve just bought my first flat and need to change the carpets. I’m quite paranoid about chemicals and off-gassing, particularly as I have a young daughter. I’d love to have floorboards but the lease says it’s got to be carpeted. I love natural carpets seagrass etc but they are soooo expensive. I’ve lived in places with coir or sisal in the past that stained really easily if it got wet as well. Does anyone know of any less expensive carpet or flooring that wouldn’t emit loads of VOCs etc that won’t break the bank (or my lease conditions)? And won’t get instantly ruined by my daughter! I’ve spent hours googling but struggling to come up with much.

We're going for 100% wool. Partly because DH has dust allergy and this is better than plastic-based one, partly environmental and VOC reasons as British wool got to be better than a nylon or polyester one.

And with carefully chosen colour as we have a 6yo!

Wool carpets are brilliant but you will need to keep an eye out for carpets months as they seem to be a real problem nowdays. We have had them in our last two houses.

Thanks @RidingMyBike and@Geneticsbunny! I did look at wool carpets but they seemed as if not more expensive than seagrass, and apparently you need to watch out for pesticides etc. can I be cheeky and ask where you got/are getting yours?

Agree with genetics bunny, I went for pure wool berber (kind of tweedy which is great for not showing kids mess) but have got carpet moths. Obviously I don't want to use chemicals to get rid so have gone down the natural route😂 (dysem handheld hoover with piece of cloth with lavender essential oils inside). As soon as we see any they get hoovered (hopefully before they get chance to breed😜) and they slowly seem to be getting less and less.

We had wool carpets at our old house and no problems with carpet moths thankfully!

This time we're buying them via a local department store which turned out to be cheaper than the flooring store.

In answer to above re price, it wasn't an expensive one, a few years back so not sure how much but was from a discount warehouse kind of place (I want to say carpet world but could be wrong, wasn't carpet right who I thought was expensive) where they sold it on the roll. No more expensive than polyester types.

I spent ages pricing loads up and worked out that when you included underlay fitting etc, they all work out pretty much the same price per square meter taking the quality of the carpet into account. We usually go with John Lewis. They may seem more pricey but once all the extra bit are included they work out the same. As long as you have sensible furniture then you can minimise the carpet months. They like carpet which is not covered by something and which doesn't get walked on or hoovered regularly. Like under pianos or bits of furniture which don't go down to the floor.

Wow @Lullabybutterfly - I wrote an almost similar post a couple of days ago. I've been researching this to death too and getting nowhere tbh. We have existing Sisal rugs that the previous owners put down in our flat. They have shrunk quite a bit (badly installed) and also incurred lots of water stains. And our lease also stipulates carpets.

I have been getting quotes for Seagrass (it is supposed to stain less than Sisal but also dosn't like water). The material itself is quite cheap compared to 100% wool but the installation costs are high because it is time consuming. It also needs a special type of rubber crumb underlay and I can't quite find out what the voc ratings for that are. Then there is also the adhesive to consider.

I think you can find 100% wool carpets that are natural (www.robertclements.co.uk/non-toxic-wool/) but they are expensive but might be cheaper to install so will work out the same cost-wise as Sisal/Seagrass.

If you want I can share with you the quote we got for Seagrass supply and fit.

What room is in in?

Were previous owners in breach of the reg out of interest?

I just had a thought - can you install some kind of harder flooring on top of existing carpets without violating the lease conditions? Maybe something like marmoleum click (which is click install rather than glued down ) or engineered wood which click installs. That way if you sell in the future you can uninstall easily and take it with you.

@Heath3 great minds! I’m really surprised at how few options there are. It seems like there was a lot of excitement over low voc carpets about ten years ago and then nothing much since. No eco websites have suggestions that aren’t ££££. I’d be consider a nylon or polyester carpet that wasn’t full of chemicals and flame retardants but can’t seem to find any of them either. I desperately wanted laminate and was gutted when I read the lease. I even researched putting laminate over existing carpet to reduce noise but not convinced it’s a goer! @Doingprettywellthanks its the bedrooms and living room, all currently carpeted at the moment but the pattern is eye watering and it has to go

In case - just have a no food rule! My carpets look as good as new 6 years later with children. No food. Craft in the kitchen!

Cross post @Heath3 ! I did read there is a risk of the boards warping or getting mould from having a carpet underneath, but looking at the video I wonder if it’s worth a go. I think you can maybe put plywood down first for stability but not sure how good the soundproofing would end up being, and if the neighbours complained you would have to take it all up. It is tempting though! I hate carpets and don’t want to have them

@Doingprettywellthanks I like your thinking. I forgot to say the living room will also have to be the dining room too so might be quite hard to enforce!

I know I'm late but I've been researching this to death too and getting pretty much nowhere too. I just wanted to say, rubber crumb is super toxic if you look it up. Absolute trash, I can't believe it's allowed.

@Heath3 I know I'm late but I've been researching this to death too and getting pretty much nowhere too. I just wanted to say, rubber crumb is super toxic if you look it up. Absolute trash, I can't believe it's allowed.