Many homeowners assume that their carpeting is unhealthy and are eager to replace it with wood or tile. Recent studies, however, confirm that carpet is actually the healthier choice.

Carpeting provides the healthy role of filtering the air. The vertical pile of carpet traps and holds many times its weight in small particles, including soil, dust, mites, smoke, pet dander and allergens. Without carpet, these particles would be circulating throughout the air you breathe.

An independent study was recently completed by the Germany Asthma and Allergy Foundation (DAAB) and the German Society for Environment and Indoor Analysis. The findings of the study proved conclusively that the indoor air in a carpeted room was of much better quality than that in rooms with smooth floors.

The study looked at the content of fine dust particles in the air over smooth floors in 186 rooms and over carpet in 104 rooms. The findings showed that the indoor air in a carpeted room contained less than half the amount of fine particulate dust than in rooms with smooth floors. The dust level over a smooth floor at 62.9 micrograms per cubic meter was found to be higher than the recommended European Standard. The findings come on the back of other recent independent research which has supported the carpet industry's claims that carpet is the healthy flooring option.

Tim Bagby is the owner of Greenway Carpet Care. For more information on studies that support this conclusion, visit www.carpet-health.org. For more information on healthy carpet cleanings visit www.greenwaycarpetcare.com or call 321-406-1513.