Eco-Friendly Flooring Options
Choosing eco-friendly flooring is a great way to minimize your environmental impact while creating a stylish and functional space. Here are some eco-friendly flooring options that are both environmentally friendly and practical:
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo is a huge name in the world of environmentally-friendly products. This is due to its incredibly fast growth rate. Bamboo trees mature after about three to five years—a remarkable feat compared to the decades it takes for many hardwood trees to mature. Moreover, bamboo provides many of the beloved benefits of traditional hardwood flooring: a gorgeous, traditional appearance, long-lasting durability, and versatility in grain, texture, and stain colors.
When considering bamboo flooring, keep in mind that most bamboo comes from tropical or subtropical regions. Depending on where you live, this can lead to high emission levels and pollution throughout the distribution process.
Cork Flooring
Cork is a renewable resource harvested from the bark of cork oak trees without harming the trees. The best part about using cork as a flooring option is its numerous benefits for the home, including natural insulation against heat and sound, fire resistance, and insect repellency.
While cork is very comfortable to walk on, making it great for bedrooms, it isn’t as durable as other flooring materials. We advise against using cork in any high-traffic area of your home.
Linoleum is made from dried and milled flax seeds mixed with other plant material (pine resins, wood flour, ground cork) with a jute backing, all completely natural materials which come from renewable sources and are 100% biodegradable.
All by products and waste is milled and used. Linoleum does not fade, as the pigments are embedded in the structure. It is anti-static, repelling dirt, dust and other small particles, making it hypoallergenic – for this reason it is often used by people with respiratory issues (asthma, allergies). It is also fire-resistant and does not require additional fire-retardants finish
Concrete flooring
At first, concrete may sound like it belongs in an industrial warehouse and not a home. But concrete flooring can be one of the best eco-friendly options on the market. When polished and stained, concrete can rival even the most aesthetic flooring options. It’s extremely durable and likely doesn’t need replacing, making it a very cost-effective choice.
Engineered Hardwood
When it comes to environmentally-friendly products, engineered hardwood flooring has it all. This is a natural material that consists of real wood. By combining a veneer of solid hardwood and a core of plywood, engineered hardwood manufacturers make a beautiful and durable product out of fewer slow-growing hardwood trees. Many manufacturers also use recycled materials to make the plywood core. This makes engineered hardwood far more sustainable than other wood flooring options.
However, that solid wood veneer makes engineered hardwood nearly identical to solid hardwood. In fact, engineered hardwood comes with many of the same benefits of hardwood flooring, such as high market value and an incredible lifespan. Engineered hardwood flooring also has low VOC levels, especially when you choose nontoxic and environmentally-friendly finishes or stains for your floors. Fewer chemicals mean better air quality for your building and less pollution in the surrounding atmosphere.
Recycled Glass Floor Tiling
Another less common eco-friendly flooring options is recycled glass. Glass tiles are a great alternative to more traditional porcelain or ceramic materials as they require much less energy to produce.
Glass tiles, often made from recycled bottles and other glass items, offer a unique, sustainable, and beautiful flooring option. Since they reflect light, making a room lighter, they can be used on the wall or the floor! The only thing to remember is that glass tiles are less durable than other flooring materials.
By choosing these eco-friendly flooring options, you can enhance your home’s sustainability while enjoying beautiful, functional, and environmentally responsible materials.
Reach out to us for reliable flooring services today!
