Around the House with Eric G® Explores Ventilation, Everyday Allergen Exposure, and the Role of Treated Carpet

Most of us spend about 90% of our time indoors, and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the air inside our homes can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. It’s a statistic that’s starting to appear more often in home improvement media, not just in allergy and asthma communities, and flooring is beginning to enter conversations that used to focus mostly on filters and cleaning routines.

That shift was on display in a recent episode of Around the House with Eric G®, a long-running home improvement radio show and podcast. Host Eric Goranson spoke with Joe Semaan of Mohawk about where carpet fits into the indoor air quality picture.

Listen to the carpet discussion around the 28-minute mark

Certified Treated Carpet in the Conversation

The specific product discussed on the episode, Mohawk’s SmartStrand® carpet with Pur-Ease™ technology, is a treated carpet that uses natural probiotics built into the fiber to help reduce allergens rather than simply hold on to them. It’s also the first treated carpet to earn certification under the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program’s treated carpet criteria.

Under that testing, independently verified results showed the treated carpet:

  • Reduced surface allergen levels for pollen, pet dander, and dust mite allergen by more than 75%
  • Reduced allergens trapped within the carpet fibers by more than 50%, compared to untreated carpet
  • Maintained stable airborne allergen levels during simulated normal use
  • Met defined VOC emission limits at 24 hours and again at 14 days post-installation

As Dr. John McKeon, CEO of Allergy Standards Ltd., noted when the certification was announced:

“Novel technologies in textiles, home furnishings and floor coverings are continually being developed and therefore warrant objective, performance-based assessment. Our standards are designed to ensure that allergen-related claims are evaluated using rigorous, transparent methods grounded in science.”

Why It Fits the Whole-Home Approach

This episode of Around the House with Eric G® is a useful reminder that indoor air quality comes down to a lot of small, compounding choices rather than any single fix. A treated carpet is a great choice as part of a whole-home approach to reducing allergen exposure, as recommended by AAFA, alongside more informed decisions on filtration, cleaning products, bedding, and vacuum cleaners. As with so much in a healthy home, it’s the accumulation of well-informed, independently tested choices that makes the real difference.

Learn more about the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program’s treated carpet criteria →