To scotchgard or not?

[JenfromWI]

I am having my carpeting professionally cleaned tomorrow and thinking about having the high-traffic areas scotchgarded. I looked at some old posts that said Scotchgard was found to be toxic and that since then they changed the chemical makeup so that it is not. Has anyone done any recent research that she'd like to share? Thank you!

ETA: I just talked to the carpet cleaners and they use Dupont Teflon for stain resist treatment. Does anyone have any experience or research on this product?

[bostonsmama]

There are a lot of threads that have recently popped up on the dangers of Teflon getting into our bloodstreams and without unbiased research to tell us how it's going to affect our bodies, many people are trying to avoid it as much as possible. With bare feet and high traffic, I think that's a slippery slope.

All that being said (as I haven't thrown out my Teflon pots just yet), I have heard that the first time you shampoo your carpet the teflon coating is gone anyways. I had my couch stain treated and didn't notice any particularly great results as to stain resistance.

Our carpet was manufactured by Dupont (Stainmaster carpet) and they still offered us this extra treatment, so check your carpet label (it's on the back of the sample at the store where you purchased your carpet) to see if this isn't redundant protection (i.e., already stain resistant).

Larissa
who's gettin in the holiday mood

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." -
James Baldwin

[JenfromWI]

Thank you for your knowledge and advice, Larissa! After this, and the bit of research I did, I am not going to have my carpet treated. I'll just have it cleaned more often, if needed.