Debra Lynn Dadd

flooring questions

QUESTION:

We have a wall-to-wall carpet in our house that was installed about 10 years ago (we've been living here 3). We want to replace it, and have realized how bad wall-to-wall carpeting is. The other half of the floor is pergo. I don't want to replace the pergo, and therefore it seems it makes most sense to replace the carpeting with more pergo and use non-toxic area rugs. My question is, is the pergo really bad? It has to be better than the wall-to-wall carpet, right? I just think it would look weird if I put a different wood-flooring on half of the house.

The other thing is, I am planning to pregnant soon, so I wanted to do this first. Should I wait a while (how long) after having the new pergo installed to have minimal toxins?

Thanks so much for your help.

POSTED BY CHRISTINE :: MASSACHUSETTS USA :: 11/27/2006 3:51 PM

DEBRA'S ANSWER:

I don't recommend Pergo flooring because I got their MSDS sheet and it says it outgasses formaldehyde. That said, I understand your design dilemma.

In response to another question about laminate floors, I contacted AFM Enterprises to see which of their sealants would be appropriate to use on a laminate floor. They said, "Safecoat Polyureseal BP over a sanded lamninate has been successfully done. Poly Bp is a good emissions controller." I wanted to make sure that the sealant would stick to that laminate finish. Make sure to sand the laminate flooring first, taking care to contain the dust, which would be full of plastic particles. This may work on Pergo. I'd get a piece and try it before installing a whole floorful.

If you are going to do this, definately do it before your pregnancy. How long to wait? I don't know how long it takes for Pergo to outgass, but regardless, you can speed up the process by applying heat. Just close the doors and windows and heat up the room, and much of the residual formaldehyde will just burn off. Heat it longer (like several days) to get more of the formaldehyde trapped in the wood to outgass.

Debra :-)

COMMENTS:

I had a similar dilemma with the wall-to-wall carpet throughout our home. We bought Pergo and left it in the boxes out in the garage for 2 years to offgas. It's been sitting still in the boxes in our spare room with an Ionic Breeze for almost another year now, and it's still offgassing. I think if we had the room to take all the pieces out of the boxes and lay them out, the 2 years would probably have been enough, at least for me. We're waiting until spring (we live in Ohio) to install the Pergo, so we can have the windows open during the worst of it. The only other way I can think of to help speed the offgassing is to somehow have the boxes in a "hot box" outside.

Hope this helps!

POSTED BY JENNI :: OHIO USA :: 11/28/2006 7:36 PM

Hi!
Check out this tip from the Ideal Bite...great information on floor coverings!
http://idealbite.com/tiplibrary/tip.php?tip=20061107&title=Totally_Floored_-_Home_Improvement_Week

Good luck!
Susan

POSTED BY SUSAN :: ONE GROUP/MIESSENCE :: WWW.ORGANICSYES.MIONEGROUP.COM :: MICHIGAN USA :: 11/29/2006 6:06 AM

Thanks so much for your help Debra. Sounds like quite a process. Just to be clear, if I install the pergo and use heat in the room for several days (say with space heaters?), just how effective is this? On another note, I was wondering what you thought about installing wall-to-wall carpeting with a special non-toxic adhesive? How harmful is that? I could try to find a special low-toxic carpet? Any other suggestions that aren't too pricey? We just have to get rid of this carpeting we currently have.

Christine

COMMENT FROM DEBRA: Using heat to "bake-out" toxic chemicals can be very effective, depending on the chemicals and materials and how much heat is used. So I can't say specifically for Pergo how much heat is needed, but eventually it will outgass.

I DO NOT recommend installing synthetic wall-to-wall carpeting with nontoxic adhesive. Though there are less toxic synthetic carpets, toxicity is not the only issue with carpets. They also collect dust and mold. I once found a whole nest of carpenter ants living under the carpet of a house I purchased, which went undetected by the pest inspector.

For suggestions for wood floors that aren't too pricey, see Q&A: Wood Floor Bargains.

POSTED BY CHRISTINE :: MASSACHUSETTS USA :: 11/29/2006 6:17 AM

Oh, I'm glad I discovered this site. I'm generally a very allergic person. I have been living in an apartment with relatively new Pergo floors. I just moved here less than a year ago.

This winter I started to get sick with sinus problems and ear infections, and a burning sensation when breathing. It hasn't cleared up. I am using a space heater in my bedroom which has Pergo floors. Is this causing the floor to emit formaldehyde vapors?

COMMENT FROM DEBRA: Yes, Pergo emits formaldehyde vapors, and heat increases the outgassing.

POSTED BY REBECCA :: NEW JERSEY USA :: 02/11/2008 3:34 PM

If I move into a house, how can I distinguish solid wood flooring from laminate? Solid wood flooring and laminate wood flooring look almost the same if I don't take a piece of wood out and examine it.

How can I know if people used glue (which emits formaldehyde) to glue the wood together or nails and staples? Am I supposed to see the nails and staples on top of the wood? Otherwise glue was used? Thanks

COMMENT FROM DEBRA: All different types of wood floor are explained at Q&A: Types of Wood Flooring.

It's hard to describe the look of solid wood flooring from laminate. I just know how it looks. To me, the real wood floor looks "real" and the laminate floor looks "fake". Look at pieces of wood flooring side by side to see the difference.

POSTED BY YH :: MICHIGAN USA :: 01/06/2009 8:48 AM

I will never again install laminate or any kind of fake wood flooring. Been there, done that, broke and sick and living on plywood floors now.

To the person who is living with laminate floors and has burning lungs: Get out or get rid of that floor. Your lungs will get worse while waiting for the floor to outgas.

POSTED BY SANDY :: ILLINOIS USA :: 01/07/2009 4:12 PM

Hi, I´m working with Pergo Glue PVAc Based, I need the MSDS so I would appreciatte information about how could I get it:
Thanks for your time,

COMMENT FROM DEBRA: Contact Pergo or search online.

POSTED BY FARELLANES :: CALIFORNIA USA :: 05/04/2009 5:18 PM

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