There’s a lot of work in keeping an allergy-friendly home: regular dusting and vacuuming, cleaning with hypoallergenic products and ensuring low humidity levels to keep moulds away. This regimen is likely to keep indoor allergies in check, unless you have wall-to-wall broadloom. Carpets are heaven for allergy-inducing dust mites, since pile traps skin particles, the mites’ main source of nourishment.

If you’re looking to replace your dust mite settlement with a hypoallergenic floor, there are a number of good options. And esthetic appeal can still be your first consideration, according to Mark Bisbee of GreenFloors, a Virginia-based flooring company that specializes in healthy floors. “Just because it’s good for you, doesn’t mean it has to be ugly.”

Allergic Living sweeps through the following choices for a beautiful, allergy-free floor.

Bamboo

The green alternative to hardwood, bamboo is growing in popularity and dropping in price. Like hardwood, bamboo comes naturally light or dark (and can be stained) and is just as easy to keep clean. Bamboo, though, is actually a member of the grass family. It only takes three years to mature – most hardwood takes between 50 and 100 years – and it flourishes with few pesticides, so the impact of harvesting it is minimal.

Bamboo is kiln-dried and turned into a variety of floor products, from unfinished tongue-and-groove strips that are installed the old-fashioned way, with a hammer and nails, to floating floors that can be glued into place. Bamboo is durable, too, lasting between 30 and 50 years, and can be refinished. However, like any wood product, it’s not suited to a moisture-prone area of the home.

Be careful when choosing your bamboo since some brands are made using formaldehyde (known to irritate the airways), while other brands may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Check also that an installer is using an adhesive that will not give off fumes. Be sure to ask a supplier for an emission-free bamboo: it is available and beautiful.

Cork

This is another great and green alternative. Bark from the cork oak tree is harvested carefully in its natural habitat, the Mediterranean, (Portugal is a major exporter) without doing any damage to the trees themselves – some of which are centuries old. The bark is then fashioned into tiles that are moisture resistant, making it a good choice, even in the kitchen.

Cork flooring products include glue-down tiles and floating-floor systems in which the cork is pre-glued to a core of particle board. Pieces snap together to make a floor. Wicanders is one brand that ensures the particle board in their floating floor is virtually formaldehyde free (less than 1 per cent).

Cork comes in a variety of colors and patterns. While it may feel soft underfoot, it is long-lasting as well as visually appealing.

Natural Linoleum

Just the word ‘linoleum’ may conjure up images of the vinyl flooring popular in 1950s kitchens. Today, the word has been reclaimed and is used to describe floors created from organic materials that are stylish and allergy-friendly.

Natural linoleum, also known by the brand name Marmoleum, is made from wood flour and bound together with flax and linseed oils to produce an anti-microbial barrier. “You can actually eat it – it’s 100 per cent biodegradable,” Bisbee says. Marmoleum comes in an incredible range of patterns and colors, from bright red to mahogany brown. It is durable, lasting about 30 years.

Next: Tiles and Stairs

Basement

Furnace Room

Risks: gas fumes, dust, dirty ducts and mouldy furnace humidifiers
Solution: Have the furnace and water heater serviced annually, and clean and replace filters regularly. If you have the ducts cleaned (opinions vary as to whether this is necessary unless mould is present), insist that no biocides (mould inhibitors) or sealants be used, as they break down over time and the furnace will circulate them through the house.

Storage Area

Risks: mould, chemical fumes.
Solutions: Basements can breed dangerous mould. Bid farewell to musty mementos, recycle old furniture and run a dehumidifier. Check with your municipality to find out how to dispose of old paint and solvents. If you must keep paint strippers or pesticides, ensure that they are sealed tightly and away from lower-level family rooms. Better yet, put leftovers in the garage.

Laundry Room

Risks: chemicals and mould
Solutions: Use Eco-certified or unscented laundry products. Make sure your dryer is properly vented to the outside. Keep surfaces dry and remove mould as soon as it appears.

Ground Floor

Foyer/Front Hall

Risks: dirt, dust and pollen
Solutions: To keep dirt and pollen out, have everyone remove their shoes upon entering. Don’t let coats and hats accumulate, as pollen trapped in the fibres can spread throughout the house, and clutter prevents proper vacuuming and cleaning.

Kitchen

Risks: pests, odours, fumes from appliances, mould, chemicals
Solutions: To prevent the intrusion of roaches and mice (which can cause allergies as well as unpleasantness), remove food scraps and other household garbage frequently. Use an exhaust fan over the stove, which will also help to cut humidity levels in the room and decrease the likelihood of mould. Use non-toxic cleaning products.

Living Room / Dining Room

Risks: Dust mites (attracted by carpets, pet and human dander), chemicals, smoke
Solutions: To combat dust and dander, replace wall-to-wall carpet with hardwood or tile floors. Use a HEPA filter vacuum at least once a week on floors, drapes, furnace vents and furniture. (Vacuum under the couch!) Dust with a damp cloth as dry dusting just spreads it around. Keep books and magazines in cabinets with doors. If you have pets, bathe them regularly and keep them off of the furniture.
Buy furniture made out of solid wood or certified low-VOC particle board. Standard particle board releases Volatile Organic Compounds into the environment. Don’t allow smoking. Up to 70 per cent of smoke from wood-burning stoves and fireplaces re-enters the house. Make sure chimneys are cleaned every year and keep doors closed on wood-burning stoves.

Next Page: Upstairs Floors