Sand Dunes

I remember flinging myself into hollows in the sand dunes in P.E.I. to bask blissfully in the sun. Much to my surprise I found sand dunes again, but this time underneath our wall-to-wall carpeting.

Our carpets were emitting a noxious odour and we decided to remove some of the underlay in a high traffic area and then steam clean the carpet to eliminate one layer of contamination. Our foam underlay had gone completely flat, but at the same time had developed hard lunar type lumps. We also wanted to solve that mystery. After rearranging some furniture we pulled the carpet back and attempted to pull out the underlay. Instead of coming out in sections, the underlay completely disintegrated in our hands. We were breathing in particles of foam dust. The lunar lumps, we discovered, were bunched up particles of foam. It sure is a strange surface to walk on.

But getting back to my sand dune story - after clearing away handfuls of foam, I saw little white rows of something or other. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that they were perfectly sculpted sand dunes. I couldn't resist playing with the sand rejoicing in the fact that in amidst all of this artificial carpet muck lay a pure pristine element - a veritable subterranean universe!

Unfortunately, there is yet another layer to my story. After our carpet cleaning efforts and having them professionally cleaned as well, the carpets still have an odour! There is only so much one can do with fifteen year old carpets. There is a phenomenon known as 'sour carpet smell'. In such cases the underlay has to be removed and/or the carpets as well. Many carpets are made out of 'olefin' fibres - an oil derivative - plastic if you will. These fibres over time retain odours and bacteria, which are impossible to remove. We are breathing in these noxious fumes. My husband has significant health problems and has been suffering from shortness of breath. This is NOT healthy! The co-op is now replacing carpeting with laminate flooring - a wise choice. No one should inherit another member's carpeting, nor should members have to live with toxic odour-emitting carpeting. We are working on a solution . . .