![]() I would avoid “glue and screw” drywall in most cases – that is gluing every piece of drywall to the studs. My top flooring picks are outlined in my Guide to Non-Toxic Flooring. This would be something I want to avoid if it’s new but not necessarily a problem when well cured. However, they do come to a complete cure with time. Low and zero-VOC carpets are listed here.Įpoxy coatings are, as a general rule, really harsh at first. Wool is much better, but you still have to look for brands that are not treated. There are many synthetic carpets that are low in offgassing, especially the PET and PTT polyester varieties – though many contain stain guard chemicals which are usually perfluorinated compounds – a high-priority chemical to avoid in most experts’ opinions. Nylon carpets tend to be the carpet textile treated with the most chemicals (compared to polyesters and wool). This is a high offgasser too, though most brands are improving with time. Rubber is really only used in gyms, garages, and outdoor playgrounds. If you are creating a home gym I have a post on non-toxic gym flooring. Used in gyms, this is really high in offgassing in my opinion. The replacement plasticizers are, so far, thought to be much safer, but I would prefer not to use flooring with plasticizers if that is possible (which would mean avoiding almost all vinyl floors). I would avoid phthalates (a plasticizer that we know is harmful to health according to mainstream sources) which are found in some, but not many, brands of vinyl flooring, including LVP. LVP (luxury vinyl plank or tile) is much much better than vinyl sheet – the VOCs are really low. You can use other sheet flooring, even plastic ones if you like, or Marmoleum to go all-natural. Sheet vinyl is a high offgassing material compared to other options. My top pick for most walls is Rockwool, my insulation post goes through all the healthy options. ![]() You do have to consider avoiding spray foam early in the planning stages because it can have a major impact on your design (especially the roof, in some cases).Īny other insulation next to this is far better. You can avoid rigid foam too if you like. (Rigid foam also contains flame retardants but this is used on the exterior or under the slab. Two-part spray foam also contains toxic flame retardants which is a priority chemical to avoid. Sometimes two-part spray foam can go terribly wrong in the installation and that is an even bigger nightmare ( Google: spray foam insulation lawsuits), but even with most average installers, I have found it offgasses noticeably for 2-3 years. You can use one part canned spray foam around windows and other openings that have to go through walls – that is usually acceptable for most people. I have found that it offgasses far more in real life conditions than the perfect small sample the companies can make in a lab for the official testing. Sometimes they try to obscure what it is by not mentioning it’s a polyurethane, by only mentioning the soy, castor or other oil component.Īll two-part spray foam insulation is a big problem in my opinion. My number one priority of materials to avoid is two-part spray foam, this could be referred to as polyurethane or “soy foam”.
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