Environmental friendliness of laminate

At the moment, laminate is one of the most popular floor coverings. It is distinguished not only by its attractive appearance, but also by other significant characteristics. There are a large number of different types of laminate flooring available on the modern market. It attracts buyers with various parameters, ranging from cost to a fairly high level of strength. But many people have a question: is it safe for health?

There are several ways to determine the harm it may cause. It all depends on the composition of the planks, which means that before purchasing it is important to carefully study each component and its effect on human health.

You will learn in this article how to understand this variety of components and avoid making an annoying mistake when choosing. It will be of interest to anyone who is concerned about the environmental friendliness of the flooring they are going to install in their home.

Environmental characteristics of laminate components

First you need to understand the composition of the coating. It includes the following components.

• Chipboard. This is recycled wood that forms the basis of the entire covering and does not pose any threat to humans.
• Resins that hold pieces of wood together. In most cases, these are either natural resins or artificial ones, but of very high quality. Do not be afraid of the names “synthetic” or “artificial”.Such components are used not only in the production of flooring, but also in the manufacture of other wooden furniture, which is likely to be found in every home. These are any cabinets, bedside tables or wooden doors.
• The final element is a coating with melamine or acrylic resin. Melamine is mixed with formaldehyde to create a viscous substance that is used to apply a surface layer to the boards.

IMPORTANT! Formaldehyde is a fairly toxic substance. Therefore, its presence in laminate often frightens potential buyers.

To answer the question of whether a coating consisting almost entirely of natural ingredients is harmful to human health, you need to study the different types of laminate available on the market.

Types of laminate according to safety level

In general, laminate is harmless. However, given the different amounts of formaldehyde, different types have different effects on humans.

There is a special division of all types of laminate into special classes, which differ from each other in the degree of emission, that is, the degree of safety of this coating for humans.

E1

The vast majority of models from modern European manufacturers belong to the E1 category. It is characterized by an extremely small amount of formaldehyde in the composition, and therefore this coating is absolutely harmless to health.

E2 - E3

But still, a more dangerous laminate exists, so you need to be extremely careful when choosing. Such models are designated by the signs E2 and E3.

Experts do not recommend purchasing them for residential premises, because significant damage to the health of its inhabitants can be caused.

E0

There are also options that do not contain a hazardous substance at all and are marked E0. But they are not as popular as coatings of the first category due to their increased cost.

Now you know everything about the environmental friendliness of laminate flooring and how to choose the right coating that will be absolutely harmless to the health of you and your loved ones.