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Polypropylene Rugs
My partner just bought a rug for the house and as much as I try to avoid every possible bad chemical for literally everything in the house, I don’t want him to have to return another thing. I checked the materials of the rug and it’s 15% polyester and 85% polypropylene. Can I just carpet wash it with some kind of soap or something to make it “healthier” or am I doomed? I read “Several chemicals included in polypropylene rugs have been linked to cancer. For example, red dyes used in fabrics were linked to cancer in rats. Styrene may also be linked to some cancers.”
I mean is the carpet emitting toxic fumes too because of what it’s made of? It’s dangerous to inhale near it? Am I being too cautious?
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1 Reply
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Hi – so the concern with polypropylene is that it’s a type of microplastic and not biodegradable.
We’re already exposed to microplastics everywhere – it’s ubiquitous and very hard to eliminate completely from our lives. This is why I do my best to avoid what I can, but also focus on ensuring my elimination pathways are working optimally.
In the case of microplastics, I would focus on sweating! Either with a sauna or exercise. Supporting our own glutathione production or taking NAC or glutathione is also something to consider if anyone is exposed to known pollutants, as it’s a powerful antioxidant.
Eating cruciferous vegetables can also help with the detoxification process by making the intermediaries less harmful.
If you don’t already have one, investing in an Ultra HEPA air filter can help clean the quality of air at home overall by capturing particles down to 0.1 microns, which includes many common airborne pollutants and some microplastics. However, I’d contact the manufacturers to see if their machine is effective with microplastics specifically.
It seems you already make a conscious effort to live a lower toxic lifestyle, so the addition of this rug is unlikely going to cause serious harm. But of course, you know your body and state of health best.
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