When choosing flooring, it’s best for your health to avoid Vinyl, wall-to-wall carpet, toxic adhesives and toxic finishes.
Replace nylon and polyester filled wall-to-wall carpet with any of these types of flooring, and area rugs, and you will greatly reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) off-gassing into your home, dust mites, a microscopic creature whose plentiful droppings are a top asthma and allergy trigger, molds and tracked in dirt and contaminants.
Take out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) vinyl flooring, considered one of the most unhealthy flooring choices.
Look into these options instead:
| Wood |
Fast growing, sustainably grown (Forest Stewardship Council FSC), reclaimed, and fast growing bamboo and palm. It’s better to have it pre-finished at factory not at your house |
| Cork | A wide assortment of colors and textures available from many vendors. It can be installed as a floating floor (not glued down) |
| Natural Linoleum | Easy to install with non-toxic glues, good for any room |
| Tile | Ceramic, recycled aluminum, recycled glass, stone, all are healthy choices |
| Concrete | Polished and stained with a non-toxic finish, these floors can be gorgeous. Ask for concrete that has up to 30% fly ash added as fly ash is a recycled waste material |
| Carpet Tiles | Non-toxic carpet tiles need no glue and do not off-gas. They can be cleaned and replaced more easily than wall to wall |
| Recycled, Sustainably-Produced Carpeting | Carpeting that avoids the use of PBDEs, uses post-consumer recycled waste and avoids off-gassing |
| Bamboo Rugs & Carpets | Durable, natural fiber rugs made from bamboo, a fast-growth wood product |
| Earthen floors | New technologies allow non-toxic additives to be mixed with dirt and made into a smooth earthen floor |
| Steel | Recycled steel can be made into stairs, for a very strong clean line |
| Glass | Thick glass makes for beautiful stairs and floor accents |
| Rubber | In tile form or wide roll, it comes in a lot of colors, there are recycled types too (not good for those with latex allergies) |
