Yeşil Döşeme Nasıl Seçilir

En yaygın döşeme malzemelerinden ikisi - halı ve vinil - çevrenin ve evinizin sağlığı için risk oluşturur. Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'ndeki zemin kaplamasının yaklaşık yüzde 70'i, çoğunlukla naylondan yapılmış halıdır [kaynak: Green Living Ideas ]. Bu neden bir sorun? Naylon petrol bazlıdır, bu nedenle üretimi yenilenemeyen kaynakların muazzam kullanımını temsil eder. Halı ayrıca alerjenler barındırır ve insanları hasta eden kimyasallar içerebilir.

Polivinil klorür veya PVC olarak da bilinen vinil, petrol bazlıdır ve üretilmesi sağlık sorunlarına yol açabilen tehlikeli bir kanserojen olan dioksin oluşturur. Ne vinil ne de halı biyolojik olarak parçalanamaz.

Çevre ve ev için iyi olan döşemeyi nasıl seçersiniz? Tüketiciler için yenilenebilir ve minimum endüstriyel işlem içeren çeşitli doğal döşeme malzemeleri mevcuttur. Yeşil bir zemin seçmek, çevresel ayak izinizi azaltabilir , ayrıca evdeki toksisite seviyelerini azaltabilir ve enerji verimliliğini artırabilir. Bu yazıda, eviniz için en iyi yeşil zemini nasıl seçeceğinize bir göz atacağız.

Herhangi bir zemini seçmeden önce, dikkate alınması gereken birkaç faktör vardır:

Farklı döşeme yöntemlerini düşünürken bu soruları aklınızda bulundurun. Estetik konusuyla başlayacağız: Halı ve vinil görünümünü beğeniyor, ancak yine de eviniz ve çevreniz için olası tehlikelerden kaçınmak istiyor musunuz? Bir sonraki sayfada, tüm halıların zararlı olup olmadığını ve vinil görünümünün doğal olarak nasıl elde edileceğini öğreneceğiz.

1. Yeşil Döşeme Seçenekleri: Halı ve Linolyum
2. Toprak ve Mantar Döşeme Seçenekleri
3. Sürdürülebilir Ahşap Döşeme

Not all carpet is bad for the environment. Carpet can be made from natural materials, such as wool made from the hair of sheep or llamas . Wool carpet provides an extremely durable, fire -resistant, stain-resistant and hypoallergenic option in comparison to synthetic carpets. This type of flooring is great for high-traffic areas because of its springy fibers, which bounce back naturally after pressure. Wool rugs can be vacuumed , but care should be taken when cleaning with certain chemicals. They look and feel luxurious, but there's a cost for that luxury: Wool carpeting is significantly more expensive than other carpets.

Daha ucuz ama yine de çevre dostu bir seçenek, çeşitli bitki liflerinden herhangi birinden yapılmış bir halıdır. Sisal , agave bitkisinin yapraklarından elde edilen ve dayanıklı, temizlemesi kolay ve ses emici zemin sağlayan bir elyaftır. Deniz otu başka bir seçenektir. Su altında yetişir, diğer bitki liflerine göre ucuzdur ve bakımı kolaydır. Biraz daha koyu, bu nedenle çocuklar ve evcil hayvanlar tarafından izlenen kiri gizlemek en iyi seçenek olabilir. Jüt , en yumuşak bitki lifidir, ancak aynı zamanda en az dayanıklı ve en pahalı olanlardan biridir. Diğer lifler arasında muz ailesinde bulunan budaklı bir malzeme olan abaka ve hindistancevizi kabuğundan hasat edilen hindistan cevizi bulunur [kaynak: Green Living Ideas]. Coir dries quickly, making it a good option for a room with moisture, such as a bathroom.

Some people love the rugged texture of plant fibers, but some materials, like sisal, are scratchy, so take the time to feel each one before making a decision. While some of these are available as wall-to-wall options, they're more commonly area rugs, because they expand and shrink when they get wet.

If plants aren't your thing, you may want to look at linoleum, a blanket term that includes vinyl flooring. You might not think it, but linoleum is actually a natural product made from linseed oil, cork dust, wood flour, tree resins, ground limestone and pigments [source: Maas]. Natural linoleum costs more than vinyl but lasts 10 to 20 years longer. It's easily cleaned, although it does require regular waxing. If you scratch linoleum, you can buff out the offending mark, and it works well in kitchens and bathrooms. A few people are sensitive to the smell of linseed oil, however, so spend some time near a linoleum floor before bringing it into your home.

Vibrant colors are one of the hallmarks of natural linoleum; a company named Forbo offers one product called "Marmoleum," which has the colors of quarried rock, and another product called "Artoleum," which has bright colors taken from MRI scans [source: Chang]. Natural linoleum can be bought at many home improvement and flooring stores, but because many people think of vinyl and linoleum as synonyms, be sure to check the label to ensure the project is natural. Installing sheet linoleum is tricky, so if you want a do-it-yourself project, it's probably better to go with linoleum tiles.

Still not enthused about natural flooring materials? We're not done yet.

Recycled Materials

In addition to natural materials, recycled materials can also create a green floor. Trees can be salvaged from old buildings. Rubber floors, made from recycled car and truck tires, are popular in gyms and hospitals because they are durable and long lasting. Some tiles are made of recycled glass, and plastic jugs and soda bottles are showing up in some carpets. Finding these materials requires a little extra research and hunting by the consumer; check the fine print before you buy.

"Floating on air" is a phrase usually meant to describe euphoric happiness. Cork flooring might be the closest way to literally achieve the state. Cork flooring feels extremely soft because it's made up of tiny pockets of sealed air. The air pockets hold up over time, so that if you get a dent in the floor, it will eventually spring back up. Cork also absorbs noise and provides good thermal insulation. It's fairly water resistant, making it a good choice for kitchens and bathrooms. With proper care, cork can last four to five times as long as vinyl flooring [source: Build it Green]. Comparable in cost to hardwoods , cork is one of the easier floorings to self-install, particularly with cork tiles that click into place. The spongy stuff also may have your floating on air because of its environmental friendliness. It's harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree without harming the tree, and the bark regenerates itself.

Most little kids are told at one point or another not to track dirt from outside on the clean floor. But what if the floor were already made of dirt? A few thousand earthen floors have been installed in the United States, primarily in the West where earthen building methods such as adobe, earthbag and rammed earth are already popular [source: Gelles].

Earthen flooring is made of a mix of clay, sand and lime that's pressed into the floor. It takes a few weeks to dry, and the floor is sealed with linseed oil and beeswax. The seal makes it water-repellent, so that mopping doesn't result in a big pile of mud, but earthen floors are still not recommended for rooms that see a lot of moisture, like bathrooms or kitchens.

These floors can cut heating costs because of the good thermal mass provided by the earthen material. Thermal mass measures a material's ability to hold in heat and radiate it out when the house begins to cool. The method is inexpensive, with earthen floors costing $5 a square foot in comparison to $15 or more per square foot for hardwoods [source: Gelles]. Installation is labor-intensive, and with few contractors experienced in earthen flooring, it will likely be a do-it-yourself project. Whether you like the look of earthen floors will be a matter of personal preference. Some really like how the floor weathers, and one builder compared it to an "old cracked leather couch" [source: Gelles]. However, appreciating the look of old leather means accepting that an earthen floor does crack, dent and scratch easily.

For more information on floors that come from trees and plants, go on to the next page.

Where to Find Natural Building Materials

Some of these methods, like bamboo and cork, have already caught on with builders, and they're available from most home stores. Others, such as earth floor, might come from the dirt in your own backyard. If you're hunting for one of these materials, a good starting point is the online database of retailers available at the greenerbuilding.org Web site.

Does a hardwood floor bring to mind images of a clear-cut forest? There's an easy way to soothe your environmental conscience. Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) meets strict criteria related to forest management and ecological concerns. FSC-approved wood is stamped and even has a special number so you can trace it back to the forest it came from. This kind of wood is becoming more available as the number of approved forests increases; about 15.5 million acres of forest were certified in the United States in 2005, up from 1.4 million in 1995 [source: Hughes]. Available woods include most of the kinds that are commonly used for wooden flooring, including oak, cherry and maple, and FSC-approved wood is comparable in cost to other wood.

Most people love the beauty of hardwood­ floors, which are durable and easy to maintain. However, hardwoods can be noisy if not properly insulated, and they're easily scratched. Hardwood floors do present cost savings because you can install them yourself. To read more about how to install hardwood floors, take a look at How Hardwood Floors Work .

Bamboo is a giant grass that's very strong. It's one of the fastest-growing plants in the world, and it can be harvested every few years, as opposed to the longer life cycles of hardwoods. In addition, the harvest doesn't affect the roots of the bamboo plant. To create flooring, the hollow rods are sliced into flat strips and treated with preservatives so that they hold together. Installation of bamboo flooring is similar to that of hardwood flooring. Bamboo floors can carry heavy loads and are more durable and resilient than hardwood floors. However, they might be a few dollars more expensive per square foot.

It's important to check what kinds of preservatives are used to treat bamboo, as they might contain chemicals that result in VOCs. Others have expressed concern that bamboo isn't harvested in an environmentally responsible manner in some countries. For example, there's evidence that natural forests have been clear-cut to make way for more bamboo, and bamboo lacks a certification process similar to that of the Forest Stewardship Council. If you're seriously considering bamboo, read How Bamboo Flooring Works .

For more information on how to select a natural floor, see the links on the next page.

What is a VOC?

When shopping for flooring, you might see the acronym "VOC" a lot. VOC stands for volatile organic compound. When organic compounds from carpet, paints, cleaning supplies and varnishes enter the air in a process known as "off-gassing," they mix with other compounds and chemicals to create VOCs. While many of these compounds aren't hazardous on their own, the compounds can cause indoor toxicity and may lead to health problems such as asthma, memory loss and cancer . VOCs emitted by cars produce smog. Selecting products marked low-VOC may improve the health of your home.

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