Today’s wood floors are more eco-friendly than you might think. Choose hardwood floor installation or new cork or bamboo flooring products and make your home “green” as well as beautiful.
More and more homeowners are concerned about making environmentally responsible choices when it comes to their homes. That means choosing energy-efficient windows and Energy Star appliances, but it can also mean opting for wood flooring when it’s time to replace your old floors. While many homeowners assume that hardwood floors are automatically out because they involve harvesting trees, today’s wood floors are surprisingly sustainable and surprisingly eco-friendly. If you’re looking for a green flooring solution for your property, wood flooring may be right for you.
For starters, hardwood flooring isn’t the environmental hazard you might assume. Yes, trees are cut down to make wood floors, and it is important to consider the consumption of resources, but have you considered the relative lifespan of hardwood floors as compared to, say, laminate flooring? While other types of floors from carpeting to linoleum have to be torn out and replaced as they wear, hardwood floors can be refinished over and over again. So while carpets and laminate take up space in the landfill, your wood flooring will still be going strong! Refinishing wood floors is like getting a brand new floor without the expense or the waste-making hardwood a great choice for your long-term budget and the planet.
But if you’re still not sold on hardwood as a truly green flooring material, why not consider other types of wood flooring. Two incredibly eco-friendly flooring options that are increasingly popular due to the green revolution are bamboo and cork. They offer great looks and the beauty of natural woods without having to cut down a single tree! Bamboo is actually a fast-growing grass, making it an extremely sustainable resource, and with its wood-like qualities, beautiful grain, and durable performance, bamboo floors are an increasingly popular option offered by many flooring companies [http://moons-flooring.raleigh-biz.com/site/services].
The same goes for cork: this material actually comes from the outer bark of the cork oak, and harvesting cork does not harm the tree in anyway. A single cork tree can produce hundreds of feet of cork over its lifespan! Cork floors offer distinctive looks, a pleasantly springy feel, and a truly environmentally friendly alternative to other flooring materials.
So when the time comes to replace your current floors, don’t automatically assume wood floors are out of the question. Visit your local flooring installer or sales outlet to learn more about wood floors and the environment-wood flooring is still a great choice for eco-conscious homeowners!
