The Carpeteria Blog

As we approach 2011, what do you do to prepare for the New Year? For some people, buying a new calendar and copying over all the birthdays, holidays and family anniversaries from the old calendar becomes almost an annual ritual.

Whether you use a classic printed calendar or have moved to a computerized one, you may want to add something else to your planning for next year – home maintenance.

No matter what type of flooring you have, it’s a good idea to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for cleaning and sealing your home products. Granite countertops also need regular sealing to stay beautiful and reliable.

In the bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to let these events slip far beyond their due date. By adding them to your calendar now, you have the opportunity to keep up with your home’s maintenance needs. Make it extra easy on yourself by adding in any contact information so that it’s easy to make the call when the requirements show up on your calendar.

So don’t force yourself to remember all the things you do to keep your house at its best – write them down, scheduling those maintenance requirements to work well with the seasons and your other plans for 2011.

It has been a fact that the old carpet and pad pulled up from consumers
homes have been piling up in American landfills since the inception of the
carpet industry. Recently it was announced that as much as 2.5 Million tons
of old carpet and pad per year are sent to the landfills throughout the US.

A few years ago Carpeteria implemented a recycling program. Initially,
several years ago, all the paper and cardboard generated from the office
and the warehouse was separated and sent out for recycling. At the same
time, Carpeteria was able to find manufacturers who could use old carpet
cushion after cleaning it. Thus, the second phase of the recycling program
was born; we purchased a large compactor and saved all the old carpet
cushion that came from jobs, along with new scraps. The compactor pressed
and baled the pad and had it ready for the manufacturer.

In the last year or so, some carpet manufacturers were able to perfect the
recycling of the old carpets and were looking for partners in the industry.
Again, Carpeteria was there in this effort to divert old carpets and pads
from the landfills.

We have a dedicated container that collects all of the carpet and pad that
are returned from the jobs, these are stacked and sorted, and on a weekly
basis are sent back to the carpet recycling center which in turn will sort
the carpet, compact it and bale it and send it to carpet manufacturers for
recycling.

The pads are separated and shipped to padding manufacturers who will clean
them and make them into recycled pad. In the next few months, Carpeteria
will offer several grades of recycled carpet pad.

We are pleased to announce that to date we have diverted almost 100 tons of
carpet and pad from the landfills of the Bay Area. A small effort on our
part, but it takes small efforts by all of us to reduce our carbon footprint
and reduce our impact on the planet.

More and more, people who want to make environmentally responsible decisions can access good information on home products. Through national and international associations as well as supplier research, details on every step of a product’s development are increasingly available to consumers.

One research study on American hardwood has been started recently by PE International; a consulting company that specializes in helping organizations become more sustainable. The firm is investigating the environmental impact of every step in the process of hardwood products, from the initial harvesting to delivery at the importer’s yard.

Studies such as this are designed to enable both suppliers and customers to make informed decisions about the sustainability of the products they choose. In the long run, customers will drive a push to environmental responsibility with their dollars.

The best tool you have to change the world’s approach to the environment is how you choose to spend your money. If you demonstrate that environmental responsibility is important to you as a consumer, companies will listen and make appropriate changes.

First, let us start by saying that when possible, you should ALWAYS use the manufacture’s recommended cleaning products. They know what’s best for their product, as well as how to protect your warranty! We also realize that most people don’t know who manufactured their floors!

Keeping that in mind…..

The products you use for everyday cleaning are probably not as gentle as they seem. Flip those cleaning products over and look at the active ingredients, host of chemical names will stare back at you. Different phosphates, formaldehyde, ammonia, chlorine bleach, and sodium hydroxide are only some of the many toxic chemicals that are normally used in all household-cleaning products.

Some of these chemicals may be carcinogenic, while others cause allergies and can be harmful to children. Not only are these products harmful to your family, they also harm the environment. There is no better time than right now, to switch to an eco-friendly product.

Eco friendly substitutes contain traditional cleaning formulas and few toxins. These “green cleaning agents” are just as effective as their toxin-loaded competition. You can look for authenticity of a product by checking the pH level, the biodegradability, as well as solvent amounts.

pH levels should be 7 or lower. Anything higher tends to be corrosive; use this exercise to red flag products. A product will state on the packaging if Biodegradable. When checking the solvent amounts, remember that less is the better choice. Look for PGE (propylene, glycol, ethers) and EGE (ethylene, glycol, ethers). If you spot these in the fine print, stay away!

Switching to eco friendly cleaning products is the healthier choice for you and your environment!