Public awareness around the health and safety of flooring products has risen dramatically over the past few years. Many customers are concerned about the possibility of strange odors and off-gassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the flooring products they purchase. It’s an important consideration for most resilient flooring products including luxury vinyl tile or plank (LVT), linoleum and vinyl floors, and various rubber flooring products. It’s also an issue with the prevalence of engineered hardwood floors (that include significantly more adhesives than traditional solid hardwood floors) and all synthetic carpet fibers.

How To Avoid VOCs and Off-Gassing

If indoor air quality is a concern, it’s usually best to avoid products that do not specifically promote themselves as certified for the particular issue. That doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad choices, but these are often expensive tests and not all manufacturers will go through the time consuming and costly process of verifying their products. When they do, they are usually proud to promote the benefits of doing so as a way to add value to their products. Look for products bearing labels such as FloorScore, using Green or Pure technology, and meeting requirements such as the California Air Resource Board (CARB) — which are some of the most stringent air quality tests.

FloorScore

Products bearing the FloorScore label meet the indoor air quality emissions criteria of LEED, CHPS, the Green Guide for Health Care, and are recognized by a long list of healthy building programs. FloorScore certification is also a valuable stepping stone to sustainability certification under NSF/ANSI 332.

FloorScore® was developed by the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) together with SCS to test and certify flooring products for compliance with indoor air quality emission requirements adopted in California.
SCS Global Services

Carpet and Rug Institute Green Label+

CRI launched its Green Label program to test carpet, cushions and adhesives to help specifiers identify products with very low emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Subsequently, CRI launched the Green Label Plus programs for carpet, adhesives and cushion. These enhanced programs set higher standards for IAQ and ensure that customers are purchasing the very lowest emitting products on the market. Using scientifically established standards, the Green Label Plus program symbolizes the carpet industry’s commitment to a better environment for living, working, learning and healing.
Carpet and Rug Institute

Our team can help identify healthy products and answer questions you may about various different flooring products. Be sure to visit our showroom at 3469 Fleet Court, across from Kelowna International Airport.