With over eight billion people sharing planet Earth, it’s more important than ever to choose eco-friendly options in your home improvements, including your flooring. But what makes a flooring eco-friendly? In this post, we’ll go over several sustainable flooring options for your Buffalo home to that you should consider when trying to make an eco-friendly choice.
Sustainable Flooring Choices: Eco-Friendly Options for a Greener Home
Materials
This is one of the first things many people consider when choosing sustainable flooring, but it’s only one part of the equation. Eco-friendly options such as bamboo, linoleum, cork, tile, concrete, vinyl plank, carpet from natural fibers, and similar options that are biodegradable or recyclable to reduce waste.
Longevity
The most sustainable material isn’t sustainable if it must be replaced just a year or two after it’s been installed. For this reason, longevity should be considered when purchasing sustainable flooring. Look for flooring that has a long lifespan to reduce the number of times it must be replaced.
Volatile Organic Compounds
For many years, volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, were used in flooring finishes to help the finish cure more quickly. However, we’ve discovered since then that these compounds can cause short- and long-term health problems, and some are forever chemicals, which never break down in the environment.
End of Life Recycling
Even the longest-lasting flooring will need to be replaced at some point. At that point, what will happen with the existing flooring? Flooring that can be recycled in some fashion provides greener options, as it’s able to be used in other flooring or products down the road, reducing the amount of material in the landfill.
Installation Method
If you decide down the road that you want to take your home’s décor in a different direction, what will happen to your existing flooring if it’s in good condition? Floors that are glued down typically cannot be pulled up without damage, but floating floor options, such as interlocking vinyl plank or laminate, can be reused.
By choosing a more sustainable, eco-friendly flooring option for your Buffalo home, you can do your part to help preserve our environment and secure the future of humanity. If you’re ready to change your flooring for a more sustainable option, Modern Flooring & Renovations is ready to help. Our friendly team can answer any questions you may have or help you through the selection process, just contact us today to get started!
