Electrostatic enhancement of dust and allergen removal from carpets

Abstract

The function of a simple fragranced carpet powder formulation has been extended beyond just the addition of fragrance to a room and the masking of malodours. A carpet powder dispensing pack was developed that transferred a high electrostatic charge (>1×10 −4 C/kg) onto the powder as it was dispensed. The amount of dust removed from a carpet by vacuum cleaning was measured. It was found that when a charged carpet powder was added to a polypropylene, wool or nylon carpet, significantly more dust was removed ( P<0.05) as compared to no carpet powder or uncharged carpet powder. It was proposed that if an electrostatically charged powder were applied to a carpet, the charged powder particles would attract dust and allergen from within the carpet pile. These would then adhere to the powder particles to form agglomerates similar to those found in electrophotocopier two-component systems. These agglomerates would be large and therefore would be more efficiently removed by vacuum cleaning than dust alone. This effect offers major benefits when attempting to remove dust and allergen from the home environment to reduce asthma stimulus.