New Carpet Launched That Cleans Indoor Air

WAALWIJK, Netherlands, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- A next-generation new carpet has been launched that cleans indoor air, one of the most significant health risks of the modern world.

The new carpet from DESSO, the international carpet manufacturer, will be particularly welcomed by the world's estimated 300 million asthma sufferers, who are most at risk from poor indoor air quality.

The most important risk factors for developing asthma are a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental exposure to inhaled substances and particles that may provoke allergic reactions or irritate the airways.

The World Health Organisation estimates that, in 2005 alone, some 250,000 people died from asthma worldwide.  It remains the most common chronic disease in children, and its incidence is increasing.

Independent Tests

The new carpet from DESSO, AirMaster®, is primarily aimed at offices, hospitals, schools and other public buildings, and will provide important health benefits that other flooring solutions simply cannot match.

DESSO is a leading manufacturer of high quality carpet tiles and broadloom carpets and has been in operation for almost 80 years. It has factories in The Netherlands and Belgium and exports worldwide.

The new carpet significantly reduces the amount of dust and particulate matter floating in the air.  Independent tests have confirmed that AirMaster® is eight times more effective in capturing and retaining fine dust than hard flooring – and four times more effective than standard carpeting. (1)

The World Health Organisation has warned that it can be particularly hazardous to inhale particulate matter (2).  Miniscule dust particles settle in the lungs, and the smallest particles can end up in the bloodstream – with potentially serious consequences.

Improving Air Quality

The significance of this is that most people spend much of the day indoors.  It is estimated that a person with a full-time office job spends an average of 1,800 hours every year in their office.  Among others, the German asthma foundation (DAAB) has for some time advised that the harmful effects of particulate matter can be greatly reduced if carpeting is chosen over hard flooring options.

AirMaster® works by reducing the incidence of potentially harmful allergy-producing particles by safely trapping and immobilising them, guarantees a significant improvement in indoor air quality, and therefore reduces the risk of health-related problems.

The carpet is based on patented technology and is specially designed to trap a higher percentage of dust particles than conventional carpet – and significantly more than hard flooring.

Independent tests (3) also found that AirMaster® released 80% of trapped dust during vacuum cleaning, a 16% improvement compared to standard carpet, and therefore better able to restore its dust-trapping capability.  

This makes DESSO the world's only manufacturer to offer a product certified with a Gold logo from GUI, the independent German test institute. (4)

While AirMaster® will find applications across multiple markets, it will have particular health benefits in, for example, hospitals, schools and offices where there can be a great deal of human traffic, and lots of feet stirring up dust from the floor.

"AirMaster® is a significant step forward from standard carpet in improving interior air quality, and will be welcomed internationally," said Alexander Collot d'Escury, DESSO commercial director.

www.desso.com

(1) Independent tests were carried out by GUI, the German test institute, and based on AirMaster® performance against standard PVC hard flooring and standard structured loop pile carpet.  GUI specialises in assessing air quality, dampness and dust particle count.

(2) Air quality guidelines – global update 2005, World Health Organisation.

(3) Phillips Floorcare

(4) The GUI Gold logo is only awarded when dust retention efficiency exceeds 80%.  The test used particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10μm (PM10 and smaller, a particle size that the World Health Organisation warns can penetrate deep into the lungs and which appear to have the greatest health-damaging potential.

Additional Asthma Information:

The Global Initiative on Asthma (GINA) was launched in 1993 in collaboration with the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institutes of Health, USA, and the World Health Organisation.  It highlights:

The rate of asthma increases as communities adopt western lifestyles and become urbanised. With the projected increase in the proportion of the world's urban population from 45% to 59% by 2025, there is likely to be a marked increase in the number of asthmatics worldwide over the next two decades. It is estimated that there may be an additional 100 million people with asthma by 2025.  It is estimated that asthma accounts for about 1 in every 250 deaths worldwide.

About DESSO

Today, DESSO can look back on almost 80 years of proven performance, having built a reputation as a leading manufacturer of high quality carpet tiles and broadloom. DESSO has four factories and two major distribution centres in Europe, as well as specialist customer service centres throughout Europe, America, Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia.

DESSO products are specifically designed for both commercial and domestic applications. Its commercial product offering can be found in offices, banks, retail units, public buildings, schools, universities and care centres. Clients include Allianz, Canon, EDF, HSBC, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, SNCF, Nestle and many more. DESSO Consumer Carpets is represented by three strong brands: Parade, Bonaparte and DESSO.

DESSO's creative carpet design and service oriented approach means that it has become a market leader in developing solutions for the Hospitality, Marine and Aviation (HMA) markets. DESSO's HMA division works with companies such as Hilton, InterContinental, Maritime, KLM, Virgin, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Holland America Line.

DESSO Sports Systems leads the market in the provision of artificial turf for sports fields and reinforced natural grass systems that provide the perfect surface at every level of sport. Our product range includes DESSO GrassMaster®, a sports field of 100% natural grass reinforced with DESSO synthetic grass fibres.

DESSO's innovation strategy is concentrated in three key areas: Creativity, Functionality and Cradle to Cradle®. For DESSO, Creativity is synonymous with CARPETECTURE®, which is a powerful example of DESSO's commitment to creative carpet design and its dedication to meet the needs of architects, interior designers, building owners and end users. In the field of Functionality, DESSO develops pioneering solutions that make a difference for health, wellness and wellbeing.

Cradle to Cradle®

In signing a partnership agreement with the Hamburg-based Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA), DESSO has become the first carpet manufacturer in EMEA to adopt Cradle to Cradle® principles. It marks DESSO's radical decision to move beyond 'mere' sustainability in producing its carpets and artificial grass.  In Cradle to Cradle® principles, products are made from pure components that are easy to disassemble in order to create new products (= up-cycling) in both the biological and technical cycles.

SOURCE DESSO

WAALWIJK, Netherlands,The new carpet from DESSO, the international carpet manufacturer, will be particularly welcomed by the world's estimated 300 million asthma sufferers, who are most at risk from poor indoor air quality.