Green Shoots Blog
Recently there has been a great deal of concern about formaldehyde emissions coming from low-cost laminate flooring. While formaldehyde is a naturally occurring chemical found in just about everything, higher levels of formaldehyde are known to cause serious health problems including cancer. So how can you protect yourself and your family? Do your research and look at test results before installing any engineered wood building products in your home.
Formaldehyde Testing For Your Home
For homeowners who are unsure of the safety of engineered wood materials including flooring in their home, Benchmark International (BMH) offers testing at a reasonable cost. BMH is one of the world’s largest and oldest accredited, independent testing laboratories. With experience testing engineered wood products since 1956, the company uses a state-of-the-art formaldehyde testing chamber for the most accurate, dependable results. For more information and to get your samples tested,contact them today.
As one of BMH’s “featured clients”, Cali Bamboo has been working with them for years, testing multiple product lines for VOC emissions, janka hardness, coefficient of friction (slip), water absorption and surface abrasion resistance. We have always been committed to ensuring that all our products meet the highest safety and quality standards our customers deserve.
A Note About Formaldehyde in Flooring
When shopping for new flooring, researching the floor’s formaldehyde emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is vitally important. Flooring is a material that will be in your home for a lifetime, that you and your family will live with everyday. Cali Bamboo’s test results from BMH show that several of our floors register formaldehyde concentration levels as “Not Detectable”, with less than 0.000 parts per million (PPM)! The floors with detectable levels are still 50 times lower than the strictest California Air Resources Board (CARB) Phase 2 standards 0.05 PPM. In fact, all Cali Bamboo flooring formaldehyde emission levels are at least half the levels found in the typical air we breathe.*
A company built on values, Cali Bamboo is one of the few companies that actually posts all our test results online, so you can rest assured that your family is safe. Learn more about Cali Bamboo’s formaldehyde test results.
*Average US formaldehyde amounts found in typical metropolitan air levels is 0.02 PPM.
I’ve seen postings to formaldehyde and phlalate testing done in 2017. Could I please receive a copy of the most recent testing done on the vinyl plank product(s)?
Hi Megan! You can access a copy of our most recent testing done on our vinyl plank here:
phthalate testing
formaldehyde testing
FloorScore Certificate
Hope this helps!
Does your North Shore Oak vinyl flooring contain phthalates? Is the vinyl produced from virgin vinyl? Thank you.
Hi Mary,
Let me ask about the virgin vinyl question in the meantime, here’s our Cali Vinyl test results:
formaldehyde testing
phthalate testing
FloorScore Certificate
Hi Mary,
I heard back from our products specialist, and we only use virgin vinyl.
Hello,
I am thinking of installing Cali Vinyl Pro Aged hickory, but my son has allergies and ashtma. Can I get a copy of the latest test results for this product? Thank you!
Hi Craig,
Look for a direct email from me with recent emissions and phthalate test results.
Hi we would like to install cali vinyl flooring can we get a copy of the recent emissions and phthalate test results. Thank you.
formaldehyde testing
phthalate testing
FloorScore Certificate
Hello – do the Cali VINYL products show detectable formaldehyde? Have they also been tested for heavy metals?
Formaldehyde isn’t usually a concern with vinyl but phthalates are and we test for both, here’s our test results and FloorScore certifications:
Let me ask about the virgin vinyl question in the meantime, here’s our Cali Vinyl test results:
formaldehyde testing
phthalate testing
FloorScore Certificate
As for the heavy metals, I haven’t heard of that being an issue but I’ll ask the person in charge of testing if it’s something included in our current tests.
Do you have any updated testing result from 2018 or 2019?
Thanks for asking Niclole,
I emailed you some of our most recent tests.
Walker
I would also like the most recent test results. If you have test results for other chemicals, I’d be interested in those as well. Thank you!
Sure thing Lindsay, what product, in particular, were you considering?
Hi,
Are the White Aspen Cali Bamboo Plus vinyl planks included in this graph, or is this just for bamboo and cork?
Hi Jamie,
Nope, this content was created before we had vinyl. While we do perform formaldehyde testing on our vinyl flooring, phthalate testing is what you want to pay attention to, and our Cali Vinyl tests very low for both.
So, it’s 2019. WHY exactly does your vinyl contain phthalates and formaldehyde? I was just wondering… actually not really because I don’t have the time. Here’s me leaving the website and going elsewhere.
Hi Susan,
Not sure what you’re referring to but we’re rather proud to offer one of the safest vinyl options on the market. All of our vinyl flooring is FloorScore® Certified in addition we provide Formaldehyde and Phthalate emissions test results to anyone who asks.
Thanks for sharing this. Have you visited this community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LumberLiquidatorsLawsuit