If you are considering installing new flooring for your home, now is the time to consider reducing your carbon imprint. There are many new choices for flooring that are not only eco-friendly but also beautiful, economical and long lasting. Let’s go over some of the most popular choices for green flooring that are currently on the market.

Bamboo –

This is one of the most popular forms of flooring and it is incredibly green. Bamboo grows quickly and does not need to be replanted. It is not as hard as some woods, however, bamboo floors are usually quite durable. They add a unique look to your home’s flooring system and you can find this flooring in many finishes and colors.

Concrete –

A lot of new homes feature poured concrete floors, especially in the kitchen. While they are very hard and a little expensive, you can’t ask for a more durable and eco-friendly floor. You can have it cast in patterns, stamped with designs and even stained to the perfect color. Adding throw rugs is recommended, especially for rooms where you will be doing a lot of standing. When it comes to cleaning, concrete floors are probably the easiest to maintain and they should last for many years to come.

Cork –

This is a nice soft flooring that will actually feel warm under you feet. It is quite popular and although cork comes from the bark of the tree, it is a renewable resource. Cork trees reproduce bark within a few years of having it removed and the removal process does not harm the tree. This is a great solution for areas that have a lot of foot traffic, since cork is pretty durable when it is installed correctly.

Cork flooring is highly recommended for those that are allergic to mold or other common allergens. The flooring is resistant to moisture and will actually repel insects. You can find this flooring in natural colors or you can have it dyed to match the color of your choice.

Linoleum –

You wouldn’t think of linoleum as being a green flooring, but it actually is. It is actually made up of several natural ingredients, and when removed, it does not take up a lot of space in a landfill, since it will easily degrade. This is probably the most cost effective eco-friendly flooring that you can find and it is incredibly easy to maintain. You can find linoleum in just about any color or pattern and installing it is also very easy.

Last but not least, if you already have wood floors, you may want to consider refinishing them before ripping them out. You can add rugs made of natural materials to hide trouble spots and you’ll be adding to the value of your home since natural wood floors are always preferable to many home buyers. It’s a great link to the past and if you already have them, you should try to get as much use out of them as possible.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-08-26 05:06:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Book Review: No-Fear Home Improvement: 100 Projects Anyone Can Do by Creative Homeowners The Creative Homeowner is one of today’s hottest resources for home improvement and this latest book produced by their editors addresses one of the biggest concerns that homeowners have. They want to start making improvements around their home, but they are too worried that they may mess something up. Considering......
• Fixing Warped Floors Warped flooring is a major problem for many homeowners. First, it is typically caused by water damage, and can be indicative of a major leak, but it can also be caused by excessive wear, poor original materials or even chance. Warped floors are a bit of a hazard around the......
• How to Pick the Right Air Conditioning System for Your Home Thankfully, today we have many options when it comes to cooling our homes. If you are wondering if it is time to upgrade to a new kind of cooling system, you’re going to have a lot of options. However, they may not all be as effective for your particular needs.......
• 9 Easy Ways to Green Your Home Greening up your home is actually a lot simpler than spending thousands on solar panels for your roof, and does not have to involve composting or growing all of your own food if you do not want it to. You do not have to be a hippy tree-hugger to want......
• Review: Joey Green's Fix-It Magic: More than 1,971 Quick-and-Easy Household Solutions Using Labeled the Mad Scientist of Home Improvement, Joey Green has come out with another book where he lists of over 1900 easy household solutions using products you probably already have around the house. This tome is definitely a good one for the green movement, as you will be reusing products......

Related Websites

• Country Garden Landscaping to Increase the Value of your Property One of the best ways that you can make your home look larger and more inviting is by designing your garden in a clever way so that it can serve as something of an extension to the rest of your living space. By doing this, you will be adding a......
• Enjoy Eco Friendly Reclaimed Wood Flooring As I step through the old house I'm purchasing I can't help but admire the gorgeous hardwood floors. I love these floors so much more than carpet, but I also can't help but feel a twinge of guilt about the environmental toll of such beautiful flooring. I console myself by......
• November 2007 Dwell Magazine - A New Shade Of Green. This month's issue of Dwell Magazine is the "green" issue it seems...even though there are stories every month about the same types of things. I have been subscribed to Dwell since they first came to market, which I believe was 8 years ago. And the magazine, while oftentimes covering......
• Ten Tips Toward a More Eco Friendly Home Tip 1 - Turn the lights off any time that they are not needed, even if you are just moving from room to room in the course of your day. According to Energy Star, as much as 20 percent of a home's overall energy use comes from its lighting. Using......
• Living Beyond Your Means: School Bus Driver Losing Her $800,000 Home to Foreclosure Every now and then you see one of those news stories that make you shake your head and say... What??? CNN ran an all too common story today about a family who is, sadly, about to lose their $800,000 home due to foreclosure (see video below). Such stories are becoming commonplace and subsequently......

Online Stores

• Ceramic Tile Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
• Laminate Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
• Bamboo Ceiling Fans Home Lighting
• Wood Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement
• Granite Tile Flooring Tile Flooring Building Hardware Home Improvement

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.


Categories:

Aesthetics, Design, Flooring, Handy Man, Wood Floors, concrete

Tags:

allergens, bamboo floors, choices, common allergens, concrete floors, cork flooring, cork trees, flooring system, foot traffic, great solution, insects, linoleum, Mold, natural colors, new homes, renewable resource, soft flooring, throw rugs