Flooring Adhesives: Advocating for a Better Green Space
Few industries innovate quite as frequently as the flooring industry, and the latest approach to flooring adhesives reflects that. In its efforts to become generally more sustainable and create products and floors that promote human health and healthier environments, the flooring industry consistently makes big strides to improve its impact on the environment, both globally and in your home. From new flooring materials like bamboo and cork to reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing, new innovations in flooring sustainability are made every day.
In recent years, flooring manufacturers began the shift toward greener adhesives used to maintain the integrity of pieced together floors like hardwood. Historically made with potentially harmful chemicals, manufacturers now reinvent how adhesive manufacturing for a more sustainable and greener process.
Understanding the Impact of VOCs and Flooring Adhesives on Your Home
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are elements within a typical adhesive (and other flooring materials) that are the most troublesome when it comes to sustainability and health. These flooring adhesives limit VOCs, making the coverings safer and more eco-friendly.
Safer adhesives reduce the transfer of VOCs, solvents, and isocyanates (a family of reactive chemicals) into a person’s environment. Removing these harmful compounds creates an eco-friendlier product. In turn, this strategy creates a healthier environment for everyone around them.
What Makes for a Sustainable and Green Adhesive?
According to Taylor Adhesives’ Gabe Moore, most of what makes an adhesive green comes down to improving the formula used to create it. “Components contributing to an adhesive's sustainability can include materials such as bio-based components from rapidly renewable sources and recycled components from both post-industrial and post-consumer sources,” Moore said.
“The overall raw material selection also contributes to sustainability. Formulators should use care when selecting raw materials to ensure that the safest is chosen with the most negligible environmental impact.”
Implement Flooring Adhesive Throughout Your Installation
To create a healthier future and home, the flooring industry looks toward more sustainable ways to manufacture, install, and maintain products. Flooring adhesives represent just one example of how your flooring can be eco-friendly and promote health. To install sustainable materials in your home, contact the Chicagoland flooring specialists at Scharm Floor Covering.
