Consumers today are choosing environmentally friendly products to construct, furnish and decorate their homes. Flooring and floor products are no exception. With a vast choice of products made from organic resources that are nonthreatening into our environment, which don’t deplete our natural resources and that recycle old products into reusable ones, eco-flooring is a trend that’s here to stay. Add on how these eco-floors are durable, long lasting, lovely and reasonably in-expensive to purchase, these new floors are a win-win scenario all the way round.
There are many types of eco-friendly flooring on the marketplace today. For instance, it is possible to discover hardwood floor alternatives that are eco-engineered, designed to look beautiful, last for years and use up to 30% less hardwood compared to conventional hardwood floors. You might also check out the reclaimed wood flooring which uses planks along with other old floor products from buildings which are about to be demolished. This reclaimed lumber will create a new refurbished piece of wood suitable for flooring in any room in your home. The wood is refinished, trimmed and sanded into floor boards and then put into place with nonpolluting glue. 1 last alternative for hardwood floors may come from left-over new timber which would otherwise be thrown away, abandoned or burned. By reusing bits and bits of left-over wood, meshing them together to form new flooring boards, you will have a strong wooden floor that will last a lifetime. When it’s eco-engineered wood, reclaimed timber or the reuse of fresh wood bits, the price of the kind of flooring is about one half that of traditional hardwood flooring.
Cork is regarded as one of the environmentally safest substances for flooring and other building products. Cork bark is carefully chosen by hand each nine decades across the woods of Portugal and Spain. This cautious harvesting does not hurt the tree at all. This bark is then treated, processed and cut into boards for use in our homes. Cork has so many other advantages too. For example, cork is resistant to most liquids and keeps out moisture, is insect resistant, germ resistant and will not absorb dust or give off harmful chemicals. As far as supplying and maintaining warmth, cork is a great insulator not to mention, it absorbs noise making it an excellent barrier for sound-proofing any area in your house. With respect to the cost, cork flooring works out to be one half of the cost of other flooring materials which makes it the ideal choice not only for the environmentally conscious but also for budget conscious shopper as well.
Bamboo flooring has many fantastic features similar to cork. Since it grows in a tropical country, bamboo is more moisture resistant, warp resistant, spills and stain-repellant which makes it a fantastic selection for the well-used kitchen or toilet areas. Bamboo is also resilient to high temperatures like radiant heating systems, something that other floor systems cannot endure. As far as replacing the bamboo-resource, bamboo develops very quickly in its natural habitat and can be harvested every five decades or so. Most of all, the cost of bamboo flooring is all about one half that of frequent flooring and a bamboo flooring will endure years of family traffic before it ever shows signs of needing replacement.
Leather flooring is a very hot consumer trend nowadays. Leather left over from factories which produce leather goods (coats, belts, purses) is set to great use by recycling it into leather flooring panels. The same technology used to fabricate cork or bamboo floors is utilized to generate leather floors that withstand moisture, are highly durable and beautiful also. Engineered vinyl flooring require no additional steps in cleaning or maintenance than conventional floors do. With the broad selection of colours (leather can be dyed) and layouts, leather flooring are acceptable for almost any room in your home. The best part however is the price – recycled leather floors cost about one half that of a traditional floor and if well cared for, they can last several decades.
Eco-friendly linoleum and carpets are also readily available to the customer today. Eco-linoleum now is made from linseed oil, wood flour and out of rosin (sap). One of the greatest things about eco-linoleum is the fact that it’s biodegradable and when it decomposes, it does not release dangerous toxins into the soil. Whether this linoleum is set up professionally, then it can be installed with minimal or no toxic glue. One other fantastic feature about eco-linoleum is the fact that it is comparatively simple to maintain – dirt and dust doesn’t adhere or attract to it and also the linseed oil component of the flooring resists bacteria growth. Eco-linoleum is a great choice in flooring where allergies exist. The cost of this floor is quite inexpensive and should you purchase linoleum tiles, then you will possibly save money by installing them yourself.
Probably the worst option for flooring is conventional rug. Two of the biggest concerns with respect to carpeted floors are that they are a breeding ground for toxins and allergens brought into the house by regular shoes. Chemicals used to clean a conventional carpet adds more toxins into your carpet and these toxins frequently stay there till the carpet is placed to a landfill. At a landfill, carpets take up to 20,000 years to decompose while depositing harmful compounds back into the ground at the exact same time.
Eco-friendly carpet, on the other hand, consists of recycled rugs, recycled vinyl and from corn sugar. Although allergens, bacteria and dirt brought into the residence isn’t totally avoidable, how the carpet is cared-for and washed is something that you can control. Cleaning your eco-carpet with biodegradable cleaners will not only benefit the life of the carpeting but also protects the environment. When it’s time to drop the carpet and take it into a landfill, eco-friendly carpets decompose readily and won’t harm the soil. The expense of an eco-friendly carpet is about one third that of a conventional carpet and by proper cleaning and care, the carpet will last for ages.
You may check out and compare that which flooring is best for you and your loved ones by going to the many retailers offering flooring solutions. In addition, there are many specialty shops that have lots of information on all the flooring products they sell helping you to make your final decision easier. The wise flooring choices you make today will not just benefit your family, your health and your pocket book but most of all, the environment we all live in.