Vinyl flooring is an increasingly popular alternative for durable, easy to install flooring for professional house builders and home renovators alike. Part of the reason for this is that it has all the qualities that rooms like the kitchen need and it is reasonably priced by comparison to other materials. Vinyl flooring is a popular type of flooring for a number of reasons. It comes in a variety of styles, it is affordable and it is durable.
Vinyl floors come with two types of "wearlayers" (a fancy name for the surface) that effect their overall performance: - Urethane - an enhanced urethane finish will protect floors from scuffing, asphalt sealer tracking, and allow most spills to be wiped off easily with a clean rag or paper towel. - PVC (poly-vinyl-chloride) - the basic vinyl floor wearlayer, it gives good durability, but lacks the easy maintenance features found in urethane. So scuffs and marks can be difficult to remove. The thickness of the wearlayer varies, and is generally measured in mils. The thickness of a mil is the same as a telephone book page (so a 10 mil wearlayer is about as thick as ten pages of the phone book). Generally, the more expensive vinyl floors have thicker wearlayers.
Vinyl composition tile is a special form of vinyl flooring, a mix of thermoplastic binder, fillers and pigments. Its used primarily in offices, retail establishments, schools and health care interiors because of its durability, ease of installation, and moderate price.
Vinyl flooring actually requires little maintenance but it still requires some level of care to make it last. First off, it should be swept several times a week to remove dirt and grit. This material will wear the floor when it is walked on and will shorten its life if not removed often. At least once a week you should then mop your vinyl flooring. Use a cleaner designed for vinyl floors or a mild household detergent. To mop the floor mix up your solution and mop a layer onto your floor. Let it dwell for a minute and then mop it up. Allowing it to dwell will help it break down and absorb soil. Follow this up with a rinse using a mop bucket full of plain water to remove any residue for a floor that will stay cleaner longer. Place fans on the floor to speed up the drying if you need to put the floors back in use quickly. That is about all there is to the cleaning. If you choose to use a cleaner with a built in polish or protectant be sure to check with your manufacturer to make sure that it will not damage your finish.
Positive of vinyl flooring is that it can be made to look like other materials. Only by touching the surface will you realize that it is actually vinyl and not marble or some kind of hard wood. It can even be made to look like an elaborately patterned tiling can be made to look like many other more exotic materials like marble and certain wood types. Given that it will be considerably less than than marble in terms of cost, this could be an option for someone that wants the look of luxury without the price.
When it comes to flooring, industry, government and concerned citizens have begun to work together on ways to reduce the potential negative environmental consequence that comes from disposing of used flooring materials.
The short answer to the question of whether you can recycle used vinyl flooring is yes. Vinyl flooring products are no exception to the recycling movement and like many types of plastic products, strategies and methods for safely disposing of and reusing these materials are growing, often into profitable businesses.
There are two ways of looking at the recycling of vinyl flooring. One way is to consider how the disposal of used vinyl flooring can be accomplished in an environmentally friendly way. The other involves the decision to use vinyl flooring and whether the vinyl flooring product you choose contains a significant amount of recycle content. You can help reduce adverse effects on the environment by choosing to go as green as possible.
Vinyl flooring products like tile and sheet flooring have been around for many years and the chemical compounds used in the manufacturing of these products are not very green. The durability and the ease of installation make these products popular flooring choices for many people and can be used in a wide variety of locations around a home or business. Some of the environmental concerns about vinyl flooring begin at the very beginning of the products life cycle, the manufacturing process and end when the product is removed or replaced and discarded. In the middle, there are some environmental advantages to choosing vinyl flooring over carpet floor coverings.
Unlike carpet that can trap and hold dirt and bacteria, vinyl flooring, like other hard flooring products is easier to keep clean and sanitary than fabric floor coverings. In general, there are fewer chemicals needed to maintain modern vinyl flooring especially with the introduction of no wax floor finishes. So with the potential of less exposure to cleaning solutions and the problems that can be associated with properly disposing of waste cleaning solutions, vinyl flooring seems to have some significant advantages.
A significant environmental benefit can be realized from the growing practice of properly recycling or disposing of old vinyl flooring. The idea behind recycling is to keep used vinyl flooring out of the landfill and to prevent disposal methods like burning that can have very serious environmental and public health consequences. The increased availability of recycled material can be an incentive to manufacturers to increase the amount of recycled material used in the production of new vinyl flooring.
Linoleum was phased out several years ago but is making a comeback because it is easier and less hazardous to dispose of.
Before you recycle old vinyl flooring it may be necessary to know what type of material you are dealing with. Some products made with PVC or polyvinylchloride is not recyclable. A good idea might to be to check with your local flooring retailer for help in identifying what the old flooring is made of. Your local flooring retailer may also be able to advise you on proper disposal methods and the location of a recycling facility that will accept old vinyl flooring.
Many flooring retailers participate in a recycling program and might be willing to take the old flooring off of your hands. Some retailers may charge you a disposal fee, but the money could be well spent knowing that the old flooring is properly disposed of.
Both Lara Newcomb & Mitch Endick are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mitch Endick has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Puppies Dogs and Education. Mitch Endick is a staff writer for the quality online store .Shop for. Mitch Endick's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.