Environmentally Friendly Green Flooring

With spring, the month of March, and Saint Patrick's Day being nearby, it's a good time to talk GREEN. There are some environmentally friendly green flooring options out there. Some manufacturers use recycled materials which is great for the environment and keeping more trash out of landfills. Let's look at some of the beautiful and unique green flooring options for your home.

TILE

There are quite a few different tile materials out there. Here is a handful that is environmentally friendly green flooring options:

STONE - A durable natural product, easy maintenance, no VOCs, and it requires minimal resources to produce. It even has a hand in regulating your home's temperature. Stone (and ceramic) have a natural ability to store heat or cold, radiating it later to warm or cool a house. An excellent way to minimize heating and cooling costs!

GLASS - Glass tile is attractive and eco-friendly. They are frequently constructed from recycled materials. You can also recycle them when the time comes. So you won't be contributing to landfill waste. However, they are great for walls… not so much on floors.

 

PORCELAIN & CERAMIC - Porcelain and ceramic tiles have existed for thousands of years and have an incredibly long life. They construct porcelain and ceramic tiles of clay, glaze, and heat - all-natural materials. Talk about environmentally friendly green flooring options! These tiles can also help lower your cooling bill since they conduct heat better than most other flooring types.

Note: Many grouts have high VOC counts, but some are environmentally friendly and safe for consumers and pets.

HARDWOOD

Engineered wood is more environmentally friendly than solid wood because of its production. Engineered wood is constructed by attaching a solid hardwood veneer to a durable plywood core. The trees used to make the plywood cores grow much faster than hardwood trees. Engineered hardwood manufacturers can create a beautiful and durable flooring product out of fewer slow-growing hardwood trees by combining a veneer of solid hardwood and a plywood core. Furthermore, there are even manufacturers that use recycled materials to make the plywood core. Some manufacturers, like Somerset Hardwood Floors, even do their own forestry, which allows them to control the entire production process without destroying the forests.

LAMINATE

Laminate flooring is a composite flooring material made of 3 layers: a core base layer, an image layer, and a durable wear layer. Indeed, laminate is a fantastic hardwood floor alternative for a more reasonable price. First, the base layer is primarily recycled materials - wood by-products and glue. Next, they add the image layer, which is embossed paper. Finally, they add the wear layer, which is a thin sheet of plastic. Laminate is often sold as click-together flooring, used to make floating floors.

CARPET

PET (polyethylene terephthalate) carpet is a strong, synthetic material that manufacturers can make out of recycled objects like plastic bottles and tires. There are low VOC options out there as well. Another all-natural eco-friendly carpet out there is wool. Wool is a product that continuously replenishes itself since it comes right off the sheep. This natural fiber option is even stain-resistant and naturally fire-retardant.

RUBBER

Rubber flooring can reduce noise, improve air quality, and is very low maintenance. It also has natural antimicrobial properties. Because they make it with recycled materials and post-consumer waste, it's eco-friendly.

SPOT CLEANER

We must mention our environmentally friendly soap-free and odor-free Procyon Spot & Stain Remover! It has no VOCs, is Green Seal Certified, and has the Carpet and Rug Institute seal of approval. Now you can spot clean your carpets and upholstered furniture without harsh odors that could affect your air quality and health. It contains a soft water conditioner so it won't break down the natural fibers of your carpet and upholstery, leaving it softer and brighter. Just spray on and blot to remove grease, oil, dirt, and more. We even use it in our professional carpet cleaning.

There you have it! Stop by one of Creative Carpet & Flooring's showroom locations in Mokena, Illinois, and Highland, Indiana. There you can speak one-on-one with one of our knowledgeable Flooring Consultants who can help you with some beautiful and unique green flooring for your home today.