Several criteria you need to know for choosing non-toxic flooring
July 23, 2026
Out of all kinds of floor coverings in the market today, vinyl flooring without a doubt has become one of the most popular floor options to use in residential and commercial areas. Also known as resilient flooring, vinyl flooring has gained a reputation as being family-friendly due to its durability, low maintenance, high resistance to water and dirt, ease of cleaning, and authentic wood, stone, and abstract designs.
When it comes to choosing the right flooring for your home, indoor air quality and health have always remained an important topic among many people. To understand this, we need to know what’s Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
What are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)?
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes. They can be emitted by a wide range of products such as paints, lacquers, cleaning supplies, glues, and building materials.
Do VOCs have any effects on air quality?
Even though VOCs can affect air quality and potentially cause health issues for a short amount of time after installation, you can always choose a trusted manufacturer who uses high-quality materials to minimise the risk.
So, is vinyl flooring safe for homes?
With the safety regulations and advanced technologies, vinyl manufacturers like POLYFLOR make a significant contribution to creating positive indoor environments by producing vinyl planks and tiles for homes and businesses with very low VOC emissions.
What makes Polyflor vinyl floorings safe to use?
All Polyflor flooring ranges have undergone many independent and rigorous VOC tests and have approval certification for the following:
- AgBB;
- Swedish B.P.D (FLEC test);
- Finland M1 test;
- Afsset A+ and FloorScore®
The most recent test method by Eurofins, is ‘Indoor Air Comfort’. This test method is the most comprehensive and stringent within the industry, worldwide, and tests for all known emissions. Polyflor products tested to date have achieved Indoor Air Comfort Gold.
Polyflor vinyl is favoured for its superior ‘cleanability’ over other flooring products and is used in the strictest of hygiene zones throughout hospitals. An additional benefit of Polyflor’s low maintenance PUR products is the minimised VOC emissions from reduced cleaning chemicals.
Along with positive VOC test results, there is no evidence to suggest that vinyl flooring contributes to common allergies such as asthma or dust allergies. It is non-shedding, where most allergies are caused by airborne dust (cleanroom test certification for non-shedding is available on most ranges).
To further create a safe and healthy indoor environment for the end-users, Polyflor’s Expona and Camaro LVT flooring collections are now produced phthalate-free and/or contain bio-based plasticiser, making POLYFLOR as one of the safest vinyl flooring brands to use in your home.
