Hello!
We originally planned to install laminate flooring in the living room with dining area and open kitchen—Toscana Flair from OBI.
Now I’ve been reading a lot and I’m wondering about the potential harmful substances in laminate flooring.
Since we have two small children, this is especially important to me.
Here are my thoughts:
1. Laminate—questionable in terms of harmful substances, aside from the texture.
Alternatives:
We don’t want tiles, and PVC or linoleum are also not options.
2. Hardwood flooring—
Have I understood correctly regarding underfloor heating: it takes longer to heat up, but once the wood is warm, there’s basically no difference?
And for underfloor heating, solid wood should ideally be fully glued down (although some say floating installation doesn’t make much difference...).
3. Engineered hardwood with click installation would be convenient, but what about harmful substances there (since it’s not solid wood)?
4. Cork engineered flooring—this would also interest us for the children’s rooms where there’s no underfloor heating. But what about harmful substances there?
And with underfloor heating, does it also take longer to warm up but then performs well?
5. Solid wood planks—actually our dream flooring... unfortunately quite a high build-up height. Due to underfloor heating, extreme gap formation might be possible.
Please share your thoughts on this. Have I understood everything correctly so far?
And what do you think about my concerns regarding harmful substances?
Best regards
We originally planned to install laminate flooring in the living room with dining area and open kitchen—Toscana Flair from OBI.
Now I’ve been reading a lot and I’m wondering about the potential harmful substances in laminate flooring.
Since we have two small children, this is especially important to me.
Here are my thoughts:
1. Laminate—questionable in terms of harmful substances, aside from the texture.
Alternatives:
We don’t want tiles, and PVC or linoleum are also not options.
2. Hardwood flooring—
Have I understood correctly regarding underfloor heating: it takes longer to heat up, but once the wood is warm, there’s basically no difference?
And for underfloor heating, solid wood should ideally be fully glued down (although some say floating installation doesn’t make much difference...).
3. Engineered hardwood with click installation would be convenient, but what about harmful substances there (since it’s not solid wood)?
4. Cork engineered flooring—this would also interest us for the children’s rooms where there’s no underfloor heating. But what about harmful substances there?
And with underfloor heating, does it also take longer to warm up but then performs well?
5. Solid wood planks—actually our dream flooring... unfortunately quite a high build-up height. Due to underfloor heating, extreme gap formation might be possible.
Please share your thoughts on this. Have I understood everything correctly so far?
And what do you think about my concerns regarding harmful substances?
Best regards
B
Bieber08151 Jun 2015 22:50In combination with underfloor heating, only directly glued parquet or cork flooring are suitable options. Both are, in my opinion, free of harmful substances. The adhesive and sealant must, of course, also have this property, but this is achievable.
As for laminate, whether it is really that bad... I don’t know (I tend to think not, if you are careful when purchasing).
As for laminate, whether it is really that bad... I don’t know (I tend to think not, if you are careful when purchasing).
D
Doc.Schnaggls8 Jun 2015 12:56Bieber0815 schrieb:
With underfloor heating, only directly glued parquet or cork are suitable.I have to disagree with you on that.
We installed floating parquet flooring (Salzburg mountain maple) throughout the entire attic, except for the bathroom, and our underfloor heating works perfectly.
Best regards,
Dirk
The main thing is to avoid PVC/vinyl flooring because the plasticizer in vinyl chloride can off-gas, be absorbed through the skin (bare feet, crawling babies, pet paws), and is picked up by household dust that circulates in the air and is inhaled.
The top layer of laminate flooring is made of melamine resin, which is generally harmless in this form, so laminate itself is safe as long as you don’t grind it up in a blender and consume 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) of it like cereal.
Just for your information, this is unrelated to how melamine is used in laminate but worth knowing about the potential effects of melamine: For example, in China, melamine was illegally added to pet food to fake a higher protein content, which led to kidney failure and death in pets. It was also added to infant formula to mask contaminants, increasing the nitrogen content and thus the claimed protein level. This caused kidney damage, resulting in the deaths of six infants and about 300,000 cases of illness in babies. Melamine has also been detected in milk products and regular liquid milk.
In animal studies where high lethal doses were administered to mice and rats, symptoms included eye discharge, respiratory problems, trembling, circulatory failure, and paralysis of the forelimbs.
The top layer of laminate flooring is made of melamine resin, which is generally harmless in this form, so laminate itself is safe as long as you don’t grind it up in a blender and consume 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) of it like cereal.
Just for your information, this is unrelated to how melamine is used in laminate but worth knowing about the potential effects of melamine: For example, in China, melamine was illegally added to pet food to fake a higher protein content, which led to kidney failure and death in pets. It was also added to infant formula to mask contaminants, increasing the nitrogen content and thus the claimed protein level. This caused kidney damage, resulting in the deaths of six infants and about 300,000 cases of illness in babies. Melamine has also been detected in milk products and regular liquid milk.
In animal studies where high lethal doses were administered to mice and rats, symptoms included eye discharge, respiratory problems, trembling, circulatory failure, and paralysis of the forelimbs.
I thought vinyl flooring doesn’t contain plasticizers? At least not those with the "Blue Angel" certification or similar?
And for laminate flooring, it’s the adhesives used between the layers that are the main concern. It’s the same with parquet flooring— the glue used to fix the parquet can also be harmful.
I believe you just have to try to choose products with recognized certifications and, if possible, from reputable manufacturers.
And for laminate flooring, it’s the adhesives used between the layers that are the main concern. It’s the same with parquet flooring— the glue used to fix the parquet can also be harmful.
I believe you just have to try to choose products with recognized certifications and, if possible, from reputable manufacturers.
Vinyl floors do not receive the Blue Angel certification because vinyl chloride equals plasticizers... However, there are luxury vinyl floors (vinyl floors are also called luxury vinyl floors) that have the Blue Angel certification, such as the DS luxury vinyl floors from the company Meisterwerke...
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