Sir, - In a recent article in your Property Supplement entitled "Getting To Grips With The Dust Mite", it is incorrectly stated that "carpets are definitely out if you are allergic to dust mite".
Independent research in Scandinavia, the UK and New Zealand proves that carpets provide a hostile environment for dust mites. Carpets are too cold, too dry, too exposed to light and are not a source of food for dust mites.
Cumulative evidence strongly suggests that carpets have, in fact, a beneficial effect on people's health by keeping atmospheric dust down and by absorbing polluting gases which may be irritating to sufferers of allergies. Research carried out in Sweden in the mid-1970s showed that when schools with and without carpeted floors were compared, carpeted schools had fewer problems with allergy sufferers.
Recent statistical data from Sweden's Central Statistics Bureau shows that while the installation of carpeting has gone down and that of hard floorcoverings has gone up over the past 20 years, the number of allergic people has increased dramatically over the same period. There are many causes of asthma, but this research indicates that carpet is not one of them. There is therefore, in our opinion, no reason why asthmatics should not enjoy the benefits of a fully carpeted bedroom as long as the air is dry, ventilation is good and the cleaning correct and regular. - Yours, etc.,
Hugh C. Kelly, Irish Carpet Manufacturers' Group, Rathgar, D.6.