We all want to live and work in environmentally friendly and health-conscious homes and buildings, but we also want to make sure that the materials being used blend performance, durability and presentation. Eco-friendly flooring options abound and are a critical component of a healthy building environment. Below, we’ll look into some options and why their important for overall environmental and public health.
There are a variety of eco friendly adhesives options on the market. Choices range from bamboo and cork to salvaged hardwood and linoleum as well as engineered wood, vinyl plank, laminate and stone and porcelain tile. There are different factors that influence the environmental profile, including the energy that goes into the production of the material, its abundance, chemicals involved and the overall installation process. Durability is also a factor, with more durable materials being longer-lived and less likely to be replaced.
When you’re shopping for environmentally friendly materials, you need to take into a variety of considerations. Where are you going to be using the materials? Flooring in wet environments, such as a bathroom or kitchen, needs to be water resistant, while flooring in heavily trafficked areas, such as hallways and conference rooms, needs to be durable and resistant scuffing and scraping. You should also take into consideration the subfloor, as a concrete padding will provide less insulation and non-insulating flooring, such as porcelain or stone tile, may make the room feel colder and require more energy for heating costs.
Ultimately, when you’re using flooring such as laminate, vinyl planking and tiles, or even linoleum, you want to make sure that all materials and adhesives being used are low in volatile organic carbons, or VOCs. VOCs can be found in different flooring products, including adhesives, sealants and even the flooring material itself, and different VOCs, and higher concentrations of VOCs, have been linked to respiratory problems, nervous system issues and different cancers. Using adhesives that are low or free from VOCs, whether as flooring adhesives, caulks or sealants on hardwood, greatly improves indoor air quality without sacrificing the quality and adhesion necessary for proper flooring.
Even if you are looking for eco-friendly flooring materials, you shouldn’t have to skimp on quality. Fortunately, modern advances in material composition have created products with high performance standards that are also compatible with your environmental and health standards. We hope that you now have a greater appreciation of the different options available for eco-friendly flooring materials as well as the importance of selecting the product that is right for you so you can enjoy the a quality indoor environment.
