What is Indoor Air Quality? Why Should I Care?
When you hear the term "Indoor Air Quality" (IAQ), you may think of mould, tobacco smoke and carbon monoxide. While these are all contributors to poor IAQ, there is a whole other segment to the quality of your air that may not be as familiar. Volatile organic compounds, more commonly known as VOCs, are potentially harmful chemicals released by products for cleaning, personal care and yes, building products, such as flooring.
Indoor air with a high concentration of VOCs can result in serious health consequences, such as respiratory ailments, central nervous system ailments and some forms of cancer. Since Canadians spend nearly 90 percent of their time indoors, reducing these emissions is critical. As people become more aware of the harmful effects of chemicals released by common products, they are working with contractors and building materials suppliers who are committed to offering products with little to no VOCs. Action Flooring is one of these suppliers.
Flooring and Indoor Air Quality
Since it covers such a large surface area, the flooring in your home can contribute heavily to poor indoor air quality. Standard manufacturing of hardwood, laminate and vinyl flooring styles involves chemicals such as formaldehyde and ethanol that are released into the air over time. Your Action Flooring team are proud to share two of our manufacturers who are also committed to healthier IAQ for you and your family.
Armstrong® FloorScore
The FloorScore program was created by Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) to test and certify normally high VOC flooring types as low-risk. A voluntary program, Armstrong's commitment to providing you with cleaner air has seen all of their vinyl tile and sheet products receive the FloorScore label.
Vinyl flooring can now be environmentally friendly and safer for you and your family. The durable surface and variety of colour and design choices make it a great choice.
Pure Genius® by Lauzon
What if your flooring was not only free of VOCs, but helped purify your air of contaminants from other products? Pure Genius is exactly as its name suggests. Hardwoods that are not only manufactured without any harmful chemicals, but can improve your IAQ by up to 85 percent. Lauzon's titanium finish uses titanium oxide to create a light-activated, air movement-triggered filtering process that removes pollutants while looking awesome.
Kentwood™ by Metropolitan Hardwood Floors
Sustainability and accountability are the foundation for Kentwood floors by Metropolitan Hardwood Floors. All of their manufacturing and corporate practices are overseen by a full time Environmental Compliance Officer in their efforts to reduce their impact on the environment. Further, they do not just meet international indoor air quality standards with their hardwood flooring products, they strive to exceed them. Action floors would like add a special thank you to Kentwood for supplying some of the valuable information used in this article.
Action Flooring is committed to providing Edmonton homeowners with responsible flooring choices. Your flooring has considerable impact on both your indoor environment and the outdoors when it is being produced so we take our commitment to your family's health and the health of our planet seriously while continuing to provide you with excellent value.
Visit Action Flooring to see the wide selection of green flooring styles and designs that will help you breathe easier.