Easy-to-clean flooring can benefit people with asthma and allergies. Rugs and wall-to-wall carpeting can hold onto allergens and irritants. But allergens and particles can be easily cleaned from hard surface flooring.

Flooring, like many building materials, can release high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during installation. Short-term exposure to VOCs can trigger asthma symptoms. And experts aren’t fully sure of the long-term effects yet.

Low-VOC flooring and installation materials – like glues – can give you flooring that reduces your exposure to VOCs.

For flooring to be CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly^® , it must pass independent testing and meet the following standards:

• Be easily cleaned, and as a result of cleaning, reduce allergens
• The flooring should have a low capacity for retaining allergens
• The manufacturer’s recommended cleaning procedures must be effective at removing accumulated allergen from the flooring
• The recommended cleaning procedures of the flooring must keep allergens in the air low after cleaning
• Exposure to airborne irritants like VOCs or toxic materials during floor installation and thereafter when in use must not exceed Certification thresholds