You get what you pay for!! This old adage appears to be proven yet again based on the problems that some homeowners are experiencing with cheap laminate flooring.

When working on a LEED certified building, we take great pains to eliminate off gassing of formaldehyde and other VOC’s. That is one of the core requirements of building a sustainable building.

Even more interesting is that we need to think about this at all. Again, European countries have faced this problem and based on the stricture of safety first, strongly restricted the use of adhesives containing formaldehyde and other VOC’s.

Sustainability is about thinking things through before you work with them. It is about using items that are proven safe…not waiting that they be proven harmful.

There are many flooring options that could prevent this problem…among them good old fashioned linoleum…now called Marmoleum, real wood, cork etc.

They may cost a bit more up front, but they are safer.

Read the full article:
Homeowners Try to Assess Risks From Chemical in Floors
Limited free access; NY Times subscription may be required.