Toxic Emissions By Hardwood Flooring

Will epa s rule address laminate flooring featured in the 60 minutes story.

Toxic emissions by hardwood flooring.

There are not that many pre finished solid hardwood with natural oil sealers available. In the old days floors were re sanded and refinished every 5 10 years. True hardwood flooring is made from solid wood harvested from trees. It s important to choose a non toxic finish when installing new flooring.

Under the epa rule the flooring that was the subject of the 60 minutes story must be made with composite wood cores or platforms that are certified as compliant with the formaldehyde emission standards. There are many choices for non toxic flooring suitable for the chemically sensitive or the health conscious homeowner. Find out how engineered hardwood flooring can be toxic what to look for when selecting engineered hardwood and what non toxic engineered hardwood flooring options are available. Engineered hardwood flooring is made up of a top layer of real hardwood veneer adhered to a core of plywood or other wood material.

Laminate flooring is a synthetic product made to look like real wood. Among flooring options for homeowners one of the most popular options is vinyl flooring that will give your home a new clean refreshing look. The company which claims to be the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in north america said it stopped selling the products last year. For the finish of wood floors natural oil sealers or shellac will be most non toxic and this is can be easily done with unfinished hardwood floors.

The prefinished solid wood flooring had consistently lower formaldehyde emissions near or less than our level of concern than the widely variable levels we found from the engineered wood and. The best options are real hardwood polished concrete and tile. The advantage of engineered hardwood is that it comes pre finished making it less labor intensive to install on site and it can be sanded and refinished at least once. But specific brands of natural linoleum carpet and engineered wood are excellent choices as well.

Hardwood is not to be confused with laminate flooring which was called out in a 60 minutes story back in march 2015. How do i know if the wood products i m buying are safe. Engineered hardwood flooring can emit volatile organic compounds voc and some vocs can even cause cancer. Airborne toxic control measure to.

Modern aluminum oxide finishes which are on most hardwood and bamboo floors are so durable they rarely need refinishing.