What IS Linoleum?
What Is linoleum, anyway?
It’s that plastic stuff on the laundry room, kitchen or bathroom floor, right? Nope. That’s vinyl. PVC, aka Vinyl, is one material greenies agree should be removed from the built environment altogether. Every step of it’s life, from manufacture to disposal, is toxic. The more flexible (soft) it is, the more VOC's it contains. It never stops outgassing either. YIKES!
So here’s one awesome alternative: linoleum. It’s been around for a very long time, and it’s a 40 year floor, with gorgeous color that goes all the way through. It’s made from linseed oil, wood flour, cork, mineral pigments and has a jute backing. These properties mean that it’s a biodegradable, naturally anti-microbial, resilient, sheet good that looks great in kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms and beyond. The ant-static properties make it easy to clean, reduces exposure to allergens and can improve indoor air quality. The baby and animals can crawl around on it without you worrying about what they are breathing in, too. And, at around $4.50 per square foot, we can afford it!
Linoleum is also great for countertops (very retro!) and makes an excellent desktop material as well. Come by greenspace and you can check out our office desks featuring linoleum tops (Forbo Marmoleum glued to wheatboard)
Drawbacks? The
tiles and floating floor options are do-able for DIYers, but the sheet goods (69 inches wide) are more cantankerous, need to be installed by a trained professional, especially because the material grows a bit in one direction and shrinks in the other. It’s all made in Europe, so there is embodied energy in the freight involved to get it to the U.S. Also, some folks are sensitive to the natural linseed oil odor, so it’s best for them to experience limited exposure to a sample before installation, and perhaps wait a few days before occupying the space.
We source from two suppliers: Armstrong and Forbo. Forbo has coined a new term by calling its natural linoleum Marmoleum, the same way we’ve come to call facial tissue Kleenex: that’s successful branding!
It’s that plastic stuff on the laundry room, kitchen or bathroom floor, right? Nope. That’s vinyl. PVC, aka Vinyl, is one material greenies agree should be removed from the built environment altogether. Every step of it’s life, from manufacture to disposal, is toxic. The more flexible (soft) it is, the more VOC's it contains. It never stops outgassing either. YIKES!
So here’s one awesome alternative: linoleum. It’s been around for a very long time, and it’s a 40 year floor, with gorgeous color that goes all the way through. It’s made from linseed oil, wood flour, cork, mineral pigments and has a jute backing. These properties mean that it’s a biodegradable, naturally anti-microbial, resilient, sheet good that looks great in kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms and beyond. The ant-static properties make it easy to clean, reduces exposure to allergens and can improve indoor air quality. The baby and animals can crawl around on it without you worrying about what they are breathing in, too. And, at around $4.50 per square foot, we can afford it!
Linoleum is also great for countertops (very retro!) and makes an excellent desktop material as well. Come by greenspace and you can check out our office desks featuring linoleum tops (Forbo Marmoleum glued to wheatboard)
Drawbacks? The
tiles and floating floor options are do-able for DIYers, but the sheet goods (69 inches wide) are more cantankerous, need to be installed by a trained professional, especially because the material grows a bit in one direction and shrinks in the other. It’s all made in Europe, so there is embodied energy in the freight involved to get it to the U.S. Also, some folks are sensitive to the natural linseed oil odor, so it’s best for them to experience limited exposure to a sample before installation, and perhaps wait a few days before occupying the space. We source from two suppliers: Armstrong and Forbo. Forbo has coined a new term by calling its natural linoleum Marmoleum, the same way we’ve come to call facial tissue Kleenex: that’s successful branding!
Tags: bathroom, flooring, green building, kitchen, linoleum, sustainability