Unlike that coveted ‘new car smell’, a new carpet odor is something that many homeowners do their best to get rid of. In most cases that new carpet smell is actually a VOC called 4-phenylcyclohexene (4-PCH). 4-PCH is a byproduct of the latex used to secure the carpet fibers to the backing. Not surprisingly, the cheaper the carpet, the more noxious the smell can be. In most cases this off-gassing of the carpet does little more than make you uncomfortable, occasionally…