My new wool carpet is killing me

[Anonymous]

We bought a new wool carpet (5' x 8'), thinking that it would be better for our toddler who has multiple allergies, and it's turned out to be a nightmare. It's new, so I did expect some shedding, but after vacuuming it for about 5 times now, it's still shedding, and it's killing my eyes and getting into my mouth! My daughter has also developed rashes all over. How long will this shedding last? How many more times do I need to vacuum until it becomes more bearable?

[Anonymous]

Ugh, we are almost a year since getting our new wool rugs and the shedding has ALMOST dissipated. Vacuum as much as you can. We got a new vacuum with better suction recently and it seemed to help a lot.

[Anonymous]

return it if you can

[Anonymous]

I know, OP. Ours killed our vacuum cleaner. I love the rug though! Six months out, shedding has abated somewhat.

[Anonymous]

Our's is still shedding, albeit not as much, after 3 yrs. If you can, take it outside and shake or beat it to get some of the fibers out.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, 5 times vacumming is nowhere near enough. It takes a few months up to a year depending on how often you vacuum it to stop/slow the shedding. Nature of the beast. Maybe return and get an olefin rug for the time being?

[Anonymous]

The shedding is normal, the rash is not.

Is it pure wool with non-toxic dyes? Did you get it at a reputable place? Does it have a rug pad underneath that is not wool?

My guess is that your daughter's rash is perhaps unrelated, or that there is some contaminant on the rug that you need to beat out/vacuum (or worse, something has been spilled on it or its the dyes). I doubt shedding itself would cause a rash, unless your daughter is scratching because of the fluff landing on her?

[Anonymous]

I would get rid of the rug. I have a lot of allergies, and I actually have been fine with olefin/nylon. It's generally the latex backing that sets me off.

So... new rug? Cotton? Sisal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, 5 times vacumming is nowhere near enough. It takes a few months up to a year depending on how often you vacuum it to stop/slow the shedding. Nature of the beast. Maybe return and get an olefin rug for the time being?

OP here - actually, we started out with an olefin rug, but the offfgassing was so bad, triggering migraine and sinusitis (despite putting it outdoors for a week), we decided to go for wool. I thought wool rugs were the preferred choice for people with asthma and allergies. Guess not...

[Anonymous]

It took ours a couple months to stop shedding, but has been fine since.

[Anonymous]

I'm allergic to wool. I get super itchy and get red hives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, 5 times vacumming is nowhere near enough. It takes a few months up to a year depending on how often you vacuum it to stop/slow the shedding. Nature of the beast. Maybe return and get an olefin rug for the time being?

OP here - actually, we started out with an olefin rug, but the offfgassing was so bad, triggering migraine and sinusitis (despite putting it outdoors for a week), we decided to go for wool. I thought wool rugs were the preferred choice for people with asthma and allergies. Guess not...

Floor cloths solved this problem for us.

[Anonymous]

I have had a wool rug for three years and it's still shedding. Try not to use the beater on the vacuum. It just makes matters worse.

[Anonymous]

Ours is 4 years old and still sheds. If I didn't love the colors, I would have gotten rid of it.

[Anonymous]

You need a woven or hurried rug. The tufted styles shed a ton. Downside is the woven are not plush.