When we think of air quality, most of us think of smog, smoke or pollen. Your next thought may be that you can’t do much about that, but air quality is indeed something you can enhance and control. We’re talking, of course, about indoor air quality (IAQ), and it’s a big factor in our health and well-being. Depending on your lifestyle, it may surprise you to learn that most people spend 90% of their time indoors, and indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air.
The primary culprits are VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, which are found in many household products and are emitted as gases. VOCs can be found in paints, wood preservatives, cleaners and disinfectants, aerosols, building materials and furnishings. Because they are found in so many household products, VOCs are consistently 10x higher indoors than outdoors.1
If you’re looking for ways to improve air quality, flooring is an easy place to start. Because it occupies so much of our indoor environments, it’s important to factor in VOCs and air quality when shopping for flooring. Look for flooring that has been tested and shown to have low or no VOCs. Floating floors are best as they have an added benefit, being that they eliminate the need for adhesives, which come with their own chemical concerns.
Next, look for an eco-friendly underlayment, like Eco Cork Foam. ECF is made of a proprietary blend of cork and non-toxic polyethylene foam. In rigorous emissions tests, ECF demonstrated ultra-low VOCs, which means that it emitted barely enough VOCs to register. ECF has such minimal VOCs that it even surpassed North America’s most stringent standards, California’s Section 01350. When eco-friendly floors are paired with ECF Underlayment, you can breathe a lot easier at home.
As will all of our technical reports, we’ve made ECF’s emissions test reports available to you on our website. To see exactly how ECF performed in emissions tests, refer to our eco-friendly product page.
About Us
ECF is manufactured in North Carolina by Palziv, North America. Palziv brings together world-class science and engineering to deliver innovative products, materials and services for the construction, building, automotive, recreational, medical and packaging industries. Every day, we strive to grow our community, working with others to seek sustainable, innovative, market-driven solutions that promote better, safer, and healthier lifestyles and protect the environment for generations to come.
1 https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality
