Is Your Rug Making You Sick?

Be a Neat Freak

Thorough cleaning helps control allergen levels, so vacuum at least once a week with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter. (Flip area rugs over and vacuum on the back, as well as the front.)

Professionally clean wall-to-wall and area carpeting once a year. The cleaning agents are now nontoxic, says Gene Cole, PhD, professor of environmental health science at Brigham Young University. Find a certified cleaner near you.

• Argonne design rug from Home Decorators.

By Elizabeth Roehrig, Health