Carpets and rugs retain heat, muffle sound, and offer an easy way to make a home comfortable. But, as anyone who vacuums knows, they also harbor a lot of dirt, as well as whatever else comes in on your shoes. Many carpets are factory-treated with stain protectors, fire retardants, and mothproofing insecticides. Synthetic carpets contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -- which account for that "new carpet" smell -- that may cause health problems ranging from allergies to nausea. And virtually all synthetic varieties are backed with a latex mix containing styrene, a possible human carcinogen.CarefulRemove your shoes at the door to minimize the amount of pesticides, car-exhaust particulate, and germs you bring into your living space. Invest in a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter; the average carpet has nearly 70 grams of dust per square meter, and the HEPA filter will help ensure that the dust doesn't blow around in the air.Make sure your home is well ventilated to minimize the effect of your carpeting's chemical components or additives.

Dispose of any wet carpet (from flooding, for example) right away; the chances of keeping it mold-free are slim.More CarefulIf you're getting a new carpet, ask the installer to air it out first in a clean, well-ventilated area. Have the carpet tacked down, instead of glued. Leave the house for at least several hours after installation, as synthetic carpets (often nylon and olefin) can emit noxious gases, including VOCs.According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the government agency that monitors products that may pose a health risk, you should also open doors and windows, and keep the air circulating throughout your home with window fans and air conditioners. If you have an air-ventilation system -- usually ducts that exchange indoor for outdoor air -- keep it running for at least 48 hours after the carpet is installed (although airing out the house longer certainly won't hurt).Consider area rugs, which can be less toxic than wall-to-wall carpeting, since the latter is usually glued to the floor with adhesives that can also off-gas fumes.

Most CarefulConsider purchasing carpets and rugs made of sustainable materials, such as sisal, coir, wool, or organic cotton. Look for rugs with jute, latex, or other natural backings that are sewn on, rather than glued with toxic adhesives, and ask for a wool underpad, too.Flor offers low-VOC nylon and wool modular floor tiles, with backing made of some recycled materials; hepa air purifier future shopthe company also recycles its old floor tiles. sharp plasmacluster portable air purifierNo matter what material you choose, look for floor coverings that are not treated with fire retardants, stain protectors, or other chemicals. ionic pro turbo air purifier reviewIf purchasing a handmade rug, look for the Rugmark label, which certifies that it was made without using child labor.

Smoking poses an enormous threat to the lungs of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) -- and no wonder. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including 43 that are known to cause cancer. Outdoor air pollution is another significant threat. But those are not the only threats to people with COPD, a lung disease that encompasses both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Many homes harbor dust, fumes, germs, and other irritants that aggravate COPD symptoms like wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. The risks are especially high in the 20% of COPD sufferers who also have allergies. Recommended Related to COPD When you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, shortness of breath may be a daily and unwelcome fact of life. Perhaps your doctor is urging you to enter a pulmonary rehabilitation program to help you manage your disease better. Or maybe you’ve heard about various breathing techniques, such as pursed lip breathing or diaphragmatic breathing.

What can help you to cope with breathlessness and improve your quality of life? Two lung experts spoke to WebMD about useful measures that you... Read the Breathing With COPD article > > You might be surprised at some of the things around the house that can cause trouble. For example, some air filters that help rid the air of dust give off small amounts of ozone, an air pollutant that is a lung irritant. “Ozone can certainly be problematic for people with COPD,” says Byron Thomashow, MD, professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and chairman of the COPD Foundation. “That’s why I usually recommend HEPA filters,” which don’t give off ozone. Here are nine other household hazards for people with COPD: 1. Air Ducts Filled With Dust The forced-air heating and cooling systems found in many homes can blow dust and other irritants throughout the house. Cleaning the air ducts periodically can help alleviate this problem.

2. Carpets That Collect Dust and Dirt Rugs and carpets are another major source of dust and dirt. “Every time you walk on a carpet or rug, you stir up a cloud of dust that you may or may not be able to see,” says Neil Schachter, MD, professor of medicine and community medicine and medical director of the respiratory care department at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Wall-to-wall carpets cause more trouble than rugs, because they tend to be bigger (and therefore harbor more irritants) and harder to clean than rugs (which can simply be rolled up and taken to a cleaner). New carpets can be especially irritating, because they can “out-gas” formaldehyde and other noxious organic compounds for an extended period of time after installation.LEEDing the WayGreening Buildings with LEED CertificationRead More I just signed a lease on a new apartment, and it turns out my downstairs neighbors are multi-pack-a-day smokers. This means the smell wafts up through the floor almost all the time.

I've cleaned the place from top-to-bottom and tried to seal off any drafts from below, but it's still awful. What else can I do? Dear Sad with Smoke, We feel your pain. It's really annoying when you're a non-smoker or a light smoker and your neighbor downstairs in an old or drafty apartment building won't hesitate to burn through several packs every day. Luckily, you have options. You may have covered this in your top-to-bottom cleaning, but a lot of the smell may be in or coming from the carpets. It won't change the smoke coming into the apartment from the neighbors' downstairs, but if that's the direction its coming from, you'd be surprised how much is probably trapped in there. Sprinkle some baking soda down on the carpet and grind it in a little bit. Leave it there while you move from room to room, doing the same thing in every room. Let the baking soda rest for a few minutes, and then break out the vacuum cleaner. Start in the first room that you put baking soda down in, and just vacuum the floors as normal.

With luck, you'll bring up not just the baking soda you sprinkled on the floors, but some of the nasty smoke smell that may be trapped in the carpet as well. Then spray down the carpets with a little Febreeze or other similar odor-removing fabric spray.If that doesn't work, you may need to take the carpet cleaning to the next level and actually rent a carpet cleaner or shampooer (most grocery stores have them available to rent by the day,) move your furniture out of the way, and attack your carpets to get that nasty smell out. Photo by Kai Schreiber.Vinegar smells pretty strongly on its own, but cigarette smoke—especially old, stale cigarette smoke—smells much worse. So if you don't mind your apartment smelling like a salad for a little while, pour some small bowls of white vinegar and let them sit in the worst-smelling rooms of the apartment for a while. Lightly soak a paper towel or rag with white vinegar, and rub down your upholstery if it's gotten into your furniture, and rub down the walls as well—if your neighbors have been there longer than you have, the smell is likely in the walls, too.

The smell of vinegar should dissipate in a few minutes—less if you throw open the windows while you do this. If you really can't stand the smell of vinegar, mix in a little essential oil, like lavender or vanilla, which will hopefully stick around after the smell of vinegar—and cigarette smoke—have faded away. Again, while this won't stem the tide of smoke rising from the apartment below, it may help your apartment's air conditioner or heater better handle the smoke that does make its way in. Check your air filter, and if the filter is old, replace it. Most air filters should be replaced every three to six months, but you may want to swap yours out a bit more often. Also, consider a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter or other high-efficiency filter. They may need to be changed more frequently, but they'll also pull out more of the dust, dirt, and smoke that may be hanging in the air in your home. Photo by Joshua Marks.Baking soda can do a good job at small odors, and can really help lift the smoke smell out of your carpet if you use enough of it, but if you're ready to use the big guns, it's time to invest in some powdered activated charcoal.

You can usually get it at pet stores (where its often used in aquarium filters,) health food stores (where it's become something of a fad,) or large department stores. Pour a little activated charcoal into a few small bowls and put them around your apartment. Leave them in place for a few days: they should slowly but surely start to absorb the odors. Additionally, if you see any other odor control product with activated charcoal in it, like kitty litter or carpet powder, it'll probably do a decent job of taming the cigarette smell coming from your neighbors downstairs. If you can find kitty litter with charcoal in it, it may be cheaper to put that around your apartment (assuming you don't have a cat!) than buying large containers of activated charcoal alone, so give that a try. Your mileage may vary here, but a good air purifier can make a big difference. Make sure to buy one appropriately sized for your space (for example, you may want a larger unit if you live in a studio apartment, while a small bedside model will do well for a single room) and that you get a HEPA filter to scrub out the smoke and dust in the air.

Check out This Consumer Reports guide and this guide from the New York Times to selecting the best air filter for more suggestions. Photo by savara gallery.Finally, all the regular cleaning and scrubbing and air filters in the world won't help if you don't do something about the source of the problem. If you intend to stay for the duration of your lease, you may want to drop by your neighbors downstairs and introduce yourself. Let them know that the building is pretty drafty (something they likely already know) and let them know that their cigarette smoke comes up through the floors into your apartment above. Don't walk into the conversation with an assumption of how it's going to go: they may blow you off and indicate they could care less how their smoking affects you, but they may be willing to listen, and they may be understanding to your plight. Don't expect them to start smoking outdoors from now on, but suggest they keep it to one room, or crack a window when they smoke instead of leaving them all shut.