You may not realize it, but flooring can contribute negatively to home air quality and the environment in general. When wood flooring is treated with toxic chemicals or poorly constructed, those chemicals can off-gas into the surrounding environment. That’s why green certifications for wood flooring are so important.
Is Your Flooring CARB Phase 2 Compliant?
A CARB Phase 2 Compliant wood flooring product is certified to have minimal (no more than .05 ppm) formaldehyde emissions. This means it’s safer for you and the environment. Composite wood products, hardwood plywood, particleboard, and medium density fiberboard (MDF) can all be certified as CARB Phase 2 compliant. CARB Phase 1 compliant products meet similar, although less stringent, standards. To check if your flooring product is CARB 1 or CARB 2 compliant, look for labels like “California 93120 Compliant for Formaldehyde” or “California Phase 2 Compliant.” It will usually be located next to the manufacturer’s name and date of production.
How is Formaldehyde Harmful?
Formaldehyde is now recognized as carcinogenic. It is a gas that is emitted from many household items. In the flooring industry, it is used as an adhesive. By reducing formaldehyde emissions in your home, you’ll be ensuring better indoor air quality (IAQ) for everyone.
Green Flooring and LEED Certification
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. LEED certification was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is one of the most popular green building certifications worldwide.
LEED Green Certifications for Wood Flooring
Flooring products that meet LEED standards are issued points that count towards a buildings overall LEED score. For flooring, points can be issued in 2 categories of the LEED Rating System: Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality. Flooring products earn points for Materials & Resources when they use sustainable materials and employ low environmental impact manufacturing processes. Flooring products earn points for Indoor Environmental Quality when they use low-emitting adhesives & sealants.
The Floor Store is Your Green Flooring Expert
Many people who care about things like indoor air quality and the environmental impact of their choices are not aware of the green certification standards for flooring. Most people don’t realize the massive contribution to poor air quality that a high VOC emitting floor can have. That’s why, at the Floor Store in Thornebrook, we make it our business to inform and assist our customers and web viewers about the environmental impact of their flooring choices. We carry a variety of green flooring options and our always happy to sit down with you in our showroom.