Vinyl Flooring Health Risk

Vinyl and linoleum flooring.

Vinyl flooring health risk.

Many consumers are opting for vinyl or linoleum flooring because they are durable versatile and economical options. Most vinyl flooring contains chemicals called phthalates many of which have been banned from children s products over concerns of negative health effects. Share on pinterest experts say linoleum is a safer alternative than vinyl flooring. These substances pose a health risk to anyone who is exposed to them.

It has been commonly used in home products for decades in everything from certain types of wood flooring to. The new lvt trend. The flooring giant lumber liquidators was accused of selling illegally sourced laminate wood with high levels of formaldehyde a known carcinogen. Because of their durability vinyl flooring can last 2 3 times as long as similar resilient flooring products.

Dioxins and vinyl flooring. This is the biggest risk that comes from choosing vinyl flooring with a high recycled content you don t know exactly what is in your floor tiles. Unfortunately building regulations have changed a lot in the past fifty years and vinyl from the 1960s can often contain traces of substances that we now know to be harmful to human health. Vinyl floors last a long time especially durable vinyl floors with thick wear layers.

But they re believed to be toxic and have been linked to a laundry list of ailments. 100 of vinyl flooring sold by lumber liquidators contained these dangerous chemicals although other flooring retailers were also selling vinyl flooring with high levels of phthalates. Flooring this organization checks the health environmental and social impacts of all of the products used for all of these flooring types including materials sealants glue etc. This means less flooring in landfills and ultimately lower impact on health and environmental concerns.

Dioxins are carcinogenic bioaccumulative toxins that can persist in the environment for a prolonged period. Phthalates are used to soften plastic and vinyl and make them more flexible. There is a new trend away from laminates towards a flooring called luxury vinyl tile flooring lvt. Researchers say vinyl flooring and sofas with flame retardants can present a health risk to children.