Does Luxury Vinyl Flooring Emit Chmicals
There are no federal laws or rules prohibiting the group of chemicals known as phthalates from vinyl flooring.
Does luxury vinyl flooring emit chmicals. Government regulators around the world are increasing scrutiny and restrictions on the use of some. This means less flooring in landfills and ultimately lower impact on health and environmental concerns. Because of their durability vinyl flooring can last 2 3 times as long as similar resilient flooring products. Moreover almost all 89 percent of vinyl flooring samples tested contained organic tin based stabilizers.
But there s an alternative. Vinyl floors last a long time especially durable vinyl floors with thick wear layers. It is very low voc and most of it is phthalate free now though those were replaced with alternate plasticizers. Luxury vinyl plank lvp is much lower in offgassing than people generally think.
I know most of us think vinyl is one of the worst options. At its heart plank vinyl floor also called luxury vinyl plank lvp or luxury vinyl floor lvf is simply vinyl flooring that comes in long narrow strips rather than the traditional square tile shapes. The consumer product safety commission does limit phthalates to less than 0 1 of the material used in toys and kids products. There s a growing market for expensive luxury vinyl flooring as well.
There are many companies out there that produce vinyl flooring products but let s look at some of the most well known and highly touted brands. Most vinyl tile flooring samples tested contained one or more hazardous chemicals. Inspired by natural stone and hardwood luxury vinyl flooring is scratch and stain and water resistant and built to endure the busiest lifestyles. The off gassing of vinyl flooring chemicals will be a painstakingly slow process that can progress for some time after the installation the duration of time will depend on a variety of factors such as the number of chemicals released into the air the ventilation in the space and the size of the environment that is impacted by the off gassing.
Besides bbp vinyl flooring also contains dioxins which are known to be carcinogenic. Fifty eight percent of vinyl flooring tiles tested contain phthalate plasticizers which are hazardous and are subject to a pending ban in the european union. Sheet vinyl is generally flexible vinyl with a printed top layer covered by a clear wear layer. Luxury vinyl tile lvt is the hottest product on the market today and it s also the product that s generating the most number of complaints and claims in the flooring industry.
There is a huge difference between lvp and sheet vinyl flooring.