Consider Classroom Rugs

Having a rug in your classroom is like having another teacher. Not only do rugs add color and style, but there are other great reasons that young children will benefit when a commercial quality carpet is put in your learning space.

• Noise reduction - Research shows that background noise from inside and outside the classroom negatively affects learning, especially for young children who require optimal conditions for hearing and comprehension. As a result, school districts, voluntarily or by state mandate, are adopting classroom acoustics standards. Carpets helps meet these standards because it is 10 times more efficient in reducing noise compared to other flooring options.
• Safety - Rugs cushion the impact of slips and falls and lessens the chance of injury. This is borne out by a study of 225 "slip and fall incidents" from hospital records of older patients. Of the group falling on carpet, only 17 percent sustained injury. In the group falling on hard surface flooring, nearly 50 percent sustained injury. 2 Injuries from falls not only lead to absenteeism, but also pose liability issues for schools.
• Warmth and Comfort - Rugs "feel" warmer in two ways. They provide actual thermal resistance, or R-value. In an independent study, carpet compared to other flooring materials, created a truly warmer building. But beyond the R-value advantage, people perceive that carpet is warmer and more comfortable. Rugs produce a comfortable place for teachers and young students to expand their learning space onto the floor. A majority of public school teachers surveyed said they preferred carpet for its comfort, noise reduction and safety benefits.
• Improved indoor Air Quality - Effective school cleaning has health-related benefits. Carpets trap allergens and other particles that fall to the floor so they don't circulate in the air. Studies have been done on the distribution of airborne dust associated with normal activities on hard and carpeted flooring surfaces. Their findings showed that walking on hard surfaces disturbed more particles. These particles became airborne and entered the breathing zone. In contrast, carpeted surfaces trapped more particles so that walking disturbed fewer particles, resulting in less dust in the breathing zone.