Why You Should Avoid Nylon Rugs

I’m taking a break from blogging about potty training (!) to answer reader questions.
 
Hi,
 
Know anything about nylon rugs? I am trying to buy a rug for my son’s room and not spend too much, seems there are many nylon ones. Are they safe? I thought you'd probably know...
 
thanks,
 
Gillian
 
 
I do know! But before I tell you I’d like to start by saying that my approach to anything I’m bringing into my home is to first decide if I really need it. Whatever you bring into the home has the potential to also drag in unwanted chemicals, so this is a first step I force myself to take whenever I get a shopping urge. This is a legitimate question when it comes to rugs. I actually prefer bare floors, especially wood ones. They’re very easy to clean and don’t provide safe haven for chemical residue or dust mites, neither of which you want around a kid. That said, rugs do break all kinds of baby and kid crashes and falls, and are helpful to curb noise both for when you’re sneaking away from a sleeping child, and for neighbors who might live below you as your son learns to run/ride a bike/drum, etc.
 
If I choose to bring something new into my living space, I always choose natural fibers over man made ones like nylon. I don’t turn to Wikipedia for solid scientific information but their detailed yet written-in-English description of what, exactly, nylon is made of is worth a read if you’re thinking of buying some. For a rug, a natural fiber could mean cotton, wool, jute, hemp, sisal, and more. A cotton woven rag rug is a simple option, as it can be tossed easily into a washing machine. We have one of these in our kitchen. We also have several wool rugs throughout the apartment in key spots, including in my daughter’s play area. A few of the wool ones I’ve had over the years are antique store finds or hand-me-downs, which are obviously eco-friendly choices. Others are new. When buying either, I make sure the wool either had no backing or was woven -- never glued – into a natural backing. This is a good rule of thumb even if you are choosing a synthetic fiber. Glues can contain, among other unsavories, formaldehyde, which has been linked to allergies, asthma, and cancer. One caveat: don’t buy very deep pile rug -- wool or synthetic -- for a kid’s room (or for any room in the house for that matter). Deep, cushy, fluffy, Flokati-type rugs provide an amazing home for all kinds of dust and allergens. It’s hard to suck the stuff out of there, no matter how tough a (HEPA-filter!) vacuum you’ve got. When I think of just-crawling infants slogging their way through that much pile, I get itchy.
 
Stain resistant coatings are sometimes offered even with natural fibers. This is always to be avoided. The toxic chemicals in various stain guards are decidedly not something you want around your growing child. Wool is naturally water resistant (thanks to its lanolin) which makes it great for kids. To deep clean any stains that might arise, rent a steamer and use without detergent.
 
When it comes to pricing, I have found my antiques and even my new wool and cotton rugs to be competitively priced with synthetic ones. They’re also very widely available -- you can find them pretty easily at places like Crate & Barrel and Ikea. For pure wool versions check out Earth Weave and Nature's Carpet.

One last thing: if you’re in the market for a skid pad for under the new rug, choose natural rubber over PVC (aka the poison plastic). You can find them all over the internet, including at GreenSage Store. And don’t forget to take off your shoes before you enter the home or just inside your home. You don’t want to be tracking in outdoor gunk including pesticide residue onto the new rug.