Green Flooring Options for Your Home
These days, homeowners are looking for ways to go green!
Not only does going green help the environment, but also helps improve yours and your family’s health inside arguably the most important place you can be…. your home.
If it’s time to update the flooring in your home, checking out eco-friendly, sustainable flooring options is a great idea.
Green flooring is non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and made from sustainable materials or recycled materials.
When searching for a green flooring option for your home, there are many options available that may surprise you as sustainable.
What are green flooring options?
Green flooring options are:
- Bamboo flooring
- Hardwood flooring
- Cork flooring
- Marmoleum flooring
- Wool Carpet
Bamboo flooring is safe, durable, and eco-friendly. A rival to hardwood, bamboo flooring is more sustainable thanks to its quick-growing capabilities. Moso bamboo is typically used for bamboo flooring and is a grass that grows 40 to 80 feet in its first year. Installing bamboo flooring is best kept to the pros, as it requires the same process as laying hardwood flooring. While it may be a beautiful green flooring option, bamboo can come with a high price tag.
Hardwood flooring, believe it or not, is a green flooring option. Both solid or engineered hardwood flooring can be sustainably harvested and made with non-toxic adhesives and finishes. You can choose from FSC maple, oak, walnut, cherry, pecan, exotic woods and more.
Cork flooring is a popular choice among homeowners looking for sustainable flooring solutions. Cork is periodically harvested from the living trees in plantations planted for commercial purposes. Cork is one of the greenest flooring options, as it is completely natural, recurring, and an easily replenishable material. To create cork flooring, it is ground up, compressed, and formed into sheets bonded with resin. However, cork is susceptible to damage and dents from heavy furniture, requires water sealing, and is not recommended for pets.
Marmoleum (click) flooring is a bio-based, highly durable, non-toxic, anti-microbial flooring that is also easy to maintain. Unlike linoleum flooring, which requires solvent-free adhesives during installation, marmoleum doesn’t require any adhesive. While you may not have heard of marmoleum, it has improved properties than its cousin linoleum and has no unfavorable odors. It is considered a sustainable and green flooring solution due to its composition of sustainably harvested wood and byproducts.
Wool carpet is manufactured from short lengths of wool from sheep. When it comes to the different kinds of carpet, wool is known to be a higher-end, very durable product. Unlike other types of carpet, wool can withstand heavy foot traffic, pets, heavy furniture and more. Wool carpet is not only sustainable, but also environmentally friendly and made from biodegradable and recyclable properties.
What is the greenest flooring option?
Many homeowners looking to go green may ask – what is undeniably the greenest flooring option?
The answer may surprise you: the floor you already have!
The greenest flooring option is sticking with your existing floor. If that isn’t an option: reclaimed lumber, sustainably harvested hardwood, cork, and bamboo are your greenest flooring options. However, weigh each one carefully and research the pros and cons to each. Cork may not be suitable for your home or lifestyle, bamboo may not be installed by some flooring companies in your area, and hardwood options may be your best choice.
The greenest flooring option is one made of out sustainable or reclaimed materials – plain and simple.
Why Choose Us?
Hatcher’s Floors is a flooring company that services the McLean, Virginia area and can help you find the perfect green flooring for your home. Whether it’s reclaimed wood or sustainability harvested wood flooring, our installers are experts at hardwood floors and can help make the perfect selection and follow through with flawless installation. Contact us today for a free quote!
