If you have been considering replacing a kitchen or bathroom floor, you may have looked into vinyl or linoleum floors and may well have been met with a jumble of contradicting and confusing data on the details of these flooring options.
To test to make sure that you're not allergic or overly sensitive to a new carpet that you'd like to install in your home, ask the retailer for a small sample piece from the roll that they'd be using to carpet your home. Put the piece of carpet into a container and seal it up. Leave the container—clear glass works best for this—in a warm sunny area for a few days; after the sample has had time to out-gas, open it up and check it for irritating odors. Don't forget to do a touch test to see if you have any contact sensitivities to it as well.
Carpets can be recycled, re-dyed and re-cut for new lives in new homes or areas of the house. New carpets can be purchased in a variety of sustainable materials, such as jute, sisal, wool and coconut husk. Carpets can also be made from recycled non-biodegradable materials, such as pop bottles and food containers.
One such 'do it yourself' fix that you might encounter in your new home is for cracked or broken ceramic tiles. Ceramic tiles are hard and resilient to wear but are also brittle and prone to chipping or cracking if you are unlucky enough to drop anything hard and heavy on them.
Linoleum is made from linseed oil, wood flour, and cork dust with mineral pigments all applied to a fabric background. While for years linoleum was considered out of fashion, it has made quite a comeback in recent years. Linoleum is now available in a broad spectrum of colors and in tiles as well as rolls.
One manufacturer offers a 6-inch x 24-inch porcelain tile that gives the appearance of a bamboo laminate floor. Porcelain tiles are hygienic and easy to clean, as dirt won't accumulate on this type of surface.
For many years linoleum fell out of favor with home builders and decorators as vinyl came onto the scene with bright flashy colors and patterns; linoleum was seen as outdated and old-fashioned while PVC flooring was seen as trendy and modern.
A veneer layer is added on the top to finish this option. The other choice is solid wood flooring, which involves cutting solid pieces of wood and milling it to certain specifications. Solid wood flooring is available in either planks or strips.
When preparing your home for sale, in addition to de-cluttering, painting the walls, and sprucing up the landscaping, it's also important to look at the condition of your flooring.
Some studies have shown that carpets can help homes trap pollutants that have been out of common use for decades, in fact. Common allergens found in carpets include: dust mite droppings, animal fur and dander, lint, smoke particles, and sometimes pollen.
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