Environmental Benefits of Wood Floors

Aug 4, 2017

With today’s hyper awareness on the world’s ecosystem and the effort to reduce our own carbon footprint, it is no surprise that more and more people are taking the initiative to go green. Many homeowners are trying to instill various ways in making their home and lifestyle more eco-friendly. One of these ways is something that is not usually thought of – wooden flooring.

You might ask yourself with skepticism, “Really? How do wood floors help with the environment?” You might also think: “Well, in order to make wooden floors, we have to chop down trees. Exactly how is THAT conducive to helping the environment?”

Besides offering an overall look of elegance and style to the room, there are actually many environmental benefits to having wooden flooring in your home or office space.

Wood Harvest

Debunking the myth that having wooden floors means destroying forests, it has been proven that trees grow faster than we harvest them. Trees have zero carbon footprint because they don’t release harmful emissions. With the concentration on eliminating and reducing carbon footprint, having wooden flooring will help create a more eco-friendly environment in your home. Trees also regenerate and there are more trees growing than what we need for hardwood flooring, which makes it an accessible resource to use.

Better Air Quality

This isn’t often thought of but the flooring option you choose to have in your home affects the quality of the air indoors. Wooden floors are more natural than other options like carpeting. This decreases the chances of harbouring airborne allergens and harmful chemicals which might be tracked in from outdoors. There is also a minimal chance of mold and dust which can easily get trapped into carpets. Any family member with allergies will be grateful for the wooden floors!

Energy and Water Efficient

When producing wooden floors for use, less water and energy is being used for production as opposed to other flooring options. By having wooden flooring in your home, it saves energy. Saving energy is one of the factors that contribute towards having a greener environment.

Serviceable After Use!

When you move locations or want to change up the style of your home, do you ever wonder what happens to your hardwood floors if they get removed? In most cases, the wood will get burned as fuel or recycled – both of which are environmentally friendly solutions.

Durable

Wooden floors can last for 75 plus years with no need to replace them as often as other flooring options such as tile, carpet and linoleum. Wooden floors can just be repaired, restored or refinished as opposed to just completely replacing them. By not being able to replace them as often, you are reducing the carbon footprint.

There you have it, having hardwood floors in your home is actually contributing to the green initiative while also improving the overall quality of life in your home. It’s a good and a green investment!