What is Laminate Flooring:
Laminate flooring is a click together floor made of a fiberboard base and a printed image on top.
It is distinct from:
- Engineered wood, which has a real solid wood layer on top of a plywood or fiberboard substrate
- Luxury vinyl plank (LVP), which is a mix of vinyl/PVC, limestone and plasticizers with a vinyl top layer
- and Hybrid floors, which have a PVC/limestone base and a real wood top layer
People often mix up laminate flooring and LVP. You will often hear LVP mistakingly referred to as laminate.
Laminate flooring does not contain any vinyl or solid wood layers and LVP does not contain any wood.
If you are interested in those other flooring options see my main flooring post.
This post contains affiliate links. Upon purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Chemical Composition of Laminate Floors – Are Laminate Floors Toxic?
HDF (High Density Fibreboard) Core:
- Softwood and hardwood fibers – around 75-85%
- Urea-formaldehyde, or melamine urea-formaldehyde as the binder – around 11-13%
- Paraffin – is added as water repellant – around 4% or less
- Ammonia – sometimes added as a formaldehyde scavenger (to reduce formaldehyde levels)
- Polystyrene is added in one brand (Duravana) to the core
(There used to be brands using MDF as the core, but now I only see HDF versions).
Top layer:
- Printed image that usually looks like wood
- A top coat typically made up of several coats of melamine-urethane impregnated paper with aluminum oxide, though some have a lacquer finish
Backing:
- Sometimes there is another melamine thin layer as the backing (and the sides in one brand)
- An integrated foam underlayment made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
- Or a polystyrene foam underlayment
- (I don’t find that there is any offgassing in those underlayments)
What about Isocyanates and Cyanuric acid?
There are other websites that seem to just be copying and pasting information from each other, these blogs list isocyanates and cyanuric acid as components of laminate flooring.
MDI based glues can offgas isocyanates. The vast majority of laminate is made with formaldehyde glues not MDI. The only one that might be using MDI (not confirmed) is Mohawk RevWood.
Cyanuric acid may be found as an impurity of melamine but is not a component in melamine and I would not expect to find this leaching from floors. This is a chemical used in swimming pools and is harmful if swallowed. (Source)
Is Aluminum Oxide Toxic?
You would have to breathe in or ingest aluminum oxide for it to be toxic. I take an extreme approach personally to metal avoidance, but I am not worried about metals that are in solid form and won’t find their way into your body.
The finish on laminate (which usually includes aluminum oxide) is very durable and this is not a floor that you will be re-sanding (you can’t re-sand laminate). If the flooring is getting worn down that is time to replace it anyway. But that will take quite a while.
Waterproof Laminate
Some lines are “waterproof” because they have an extra component of wax on the tongue and groove parts. This was the first generation of waterproof laminate.
Since then there have been new developments:
1. One brand, Duravana from LL Floors, has polystyrene mixed in to the HDF core, this provides a greater level of waterproofing compared to wax on the tongue and groove. (This is a big innovation and improvement in the laminate industry).
2. AquaGuard from Floor and Decor coats the sides and back with melamine to protect the fiberboard from water.
Neither type of waterproofing adds more offgassing.
3. Evoke Surge claims to be waterproof but they don’t disclose how this is accomplished. They say the binder in the fiber core is organic (so not plastic), and they did confirm it’s formaldehyde, but I don’t know what’s added to make it more waterproof.
Level of Formaldehyde Offgassing From Laminate
The only real chemical of concern here is formaldehyde, and just about all laminate flooring is made with formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde levels in laminate flooring are very low now. Melamine-formaldehyde offgasses less formaldehyde than urea-formaldehyde (Source).
Many laminate brands are GreenGuard Gold certified. This means they offgas no more than 0.0073 ppm formaldehyde.
The outdoor level of formaldehyde in urban areas is 0.0015 – 0.047 ppm (source).
CARB 2 and TSCA Title VI are legal limits (they are both the same), O.11 ppm is allowed in MDF.
Laminate Flooring Brands that are Certified GreenGuard Gold Include:
- Swiss Krono USA
- Duravana from LL Floors looks like your typical laminate but the core seemed a little different to me so I asked the company about it. The core has polystyrene added to it (it also contains the usual wood fiber and melamine urea formaldehyde) which makes it more inherently waterproof than other brands. It does not have more offgassing than other brands. It’s my top pick for sure.
- Traffic Master
- AquaGuard Laminate from Floor and Decor
- Evoke Surge
- Pergo used to have Greenguard Gold certification before they were bought out by Mohawk. I don’t think the glues have likely changed, Mohawk simply doesn’t use Greenguard. Judging from the samples I received, they use the same glue as the others.
- Shaw Laminate is GreenGuard (not Greenguard Gold)
(If it meets GreenGuard Gold then it certainly exceeds E-0 limits of 0.07 ppm formaldehyde and E-1 limits, which are even higher).
Home Depot Brands of Laminate
In terms of Home Depot Brands: Home Decorators Collection seemed lower in offgassing straight out of the box, but Traffic Master offgassed quicker – to me it seemed to almost fully offgassed in about a month. Whereas, HDC did not seem to have made much progress at all in a month.
IKEA Tundra Laminate Flooring
IKEA’s laminate flooring is only available in Europe. IKEA is always at the forefront of the industry in terms of lowering emissions like formaldehyde in pressed wood products. While IKEA doesn’t use certifications like GreenGuard Gold, I’m certain it would meet or exceed those limits.
Formaldehyde-Free Laminate Flooring
I have only seen one brand of laminate flooring that is formaldehyde-free (more accurately “no added formaldehyde” since wood natural contains formaldehyde).
This is the RevWood line from Mohawk. They have stated in an email that it is no added formaldehyde. It does not say this on the website (which is very strange to me, since it’s the only brand that is offering this). But there is no formaldehyde on the SDS sheet (where it would have to be listed) and no Prop 65 warning for formaldehyde (only one for wood dust).
They do not say which glues is used, only that it’s water-based. I would suspect that it is a MDI glue, which also offgasses VOCs. The VOCs are listed on the SDS as <9 ng/m3, which is extremely low.
How Long Does it Take Laminate Flooring to Fully Offgas
Lynn Baker, an air pollution specialist with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) says “you’ll get a fairly large amount that off-gasses early on, and then it starts to become less over a period ranging from months to a couple of years depending on the amounts contained in the product” Source.
Years ago, high formaldehyde products like MDF made with urea-formaldehyde could take 7+ years to offgas, but products with lower levels of formaldehyde, and products made from phenol or melamine-formaldehyde offgas less and take much less time.
In my observation, laminate flooring is mostly offgassed in the first few months and is usually fully offgassed within a couple of years.
Other Chemicals Used in Installing Laminate Flooring
Adhesives
While you can glue down laminate flooring, it’s not done that often. There is no situation in which it would be necessary to glue down laminate flooring. I definitely would not glue this down.
Underlayment
I like the brands that include an attached polyethylene foam underlayment. But if you don’t start with one of those brands you can check out the options in my post on underlayment.
Other Flooring with an HDF Core
Other floorings with the same basic HDF core include Marmoleum Click (the top flooring sample in the stack in the above photo), and cork flooring with an HDF core – (second sample from the bottom, in the pic).
Corinne Segura is a Building Biologist Practitioner with 8 years of experience helping others create healthy homes.
Sources:
- Wellmade Floors SDS
- Pharos CP for HDF
- SDS for HDF
- Home Depot
- Swiss Krono
- Science Direct.com
Alan says
You state that Mohawk’s RevWood has no added formaldehyde. Could you point me to this info? I’m unable to find it.
Also I don’t see anything on Shaw’s website about being certified GreenGuard Gold. Is that somewhere on their site?
Corinne says
I mention in the post that Mohawk will state this in an email but it’s not on their site. Shaw used to have Greenguard children and schools for their laminate which is the same as green guard gold, but now they only have green guard so I’ve updated the article, thanks for pointing that out.
Alan says
Thank you. So stating that RevWood has no has no added formaldehyde is just trusting the words of whomever wrote that email. I wouldn’t state that info unless it’s printed on their website. Besides, as you state, that doesn’t mean that it’s formaldehyde free. “No added formaldehyde ” could mean anything to them.
Corinne says
I mention in the post exactly where I got the info, it’s not just one email. In my experience of 10 years doing this I think it’s unlikely they are lying about that but I also noted it’s strange that it’s not on the website. No added formaldehyde means the glues binding the HDF are not formaldehyde based, nor the glue binding the HDF to the melamine. No company can say “formaldehyde free” when there is wood in the product because wood naturally contains formaldehyde. These terms are legal terms and are actually quite specific.
Corinne says
Also I should add formaldehyde is something that would have to be declared on the SDS sheet.
Alan says
If I’m looking for the cheapest flooring type that’s still safe, what type would that be? Would it be laminate flooring, LVP, or engineered wood? The article talks about the best brands of laminate, but how safe are the other types? Or is it implying that laminate is the safest?
I’m sure anything that comes on a roll is bad?
Also do you have similar info for carpet? I need carpet in one room (media room).
Corinne says
It’s a toss up between vinyl plank and laminate for best cheapest flooring just depending on if you want short term offgassing (from laminate) or longer term possible problems from plasticizers (in vinyl).
Alan says
How safe is carpet?
Corinne says
it ranges from 0 VOC and no persistent chemicals to quite high offgassing and persistent chemicals like flame retardants, PFAS and metals. See post on carpeting. The question is can you get one of the polyester extremely low VOC ones at the right price. that I don’t know off the top of my head.
John says
Does durvana flooring have formaldehyde in it?
Corinne says
yes all brands but one do
Ryan says
Hi Corinne,
Thanks for your helpful articles I decided not to replace carpet with carpet, instead I’m looking at either laminate or LVP given the budget.
My question is about the water-proof/water-resistant feature of the latest products. What drove me away from carpet is the chemicals such as PFAS (and the carpet manufacturers don’t reveal what proprietary topical treatment their fiber goes through when they claim they don’t use PFAS). Now my concern is for laminate flooring that claims to be water-proof/water-resistant, do they involve the usage of such chemicals that fall under PFAS family? I saw your mention of AquaGuard using melamine layers (their website says “2 pass power sealer edge coating for water resistance”) and I saw the LifeProof laminate from Home Depot mention “edges treated with wax”, and Pergo/Mohawk has SpillProtect/WetProtect which doesn’t say exactly what it is, plus Mohawk laminate also features CleanProtect which is soil/stain resistance, now this sounds more and more similar to what they do to their carpet, so do you think there is the possibility of PFAS involved? Where did you get the information about the AquaGuard water proof technology since I couldn’t find any detail about it?
Thank you very much!
Corinne says
I doubt its PFAS, I think it’s generally wax, melamine, or a plastic mixed into the wood fibres because that’s what I’ve been able to find so far.
Julietta says
Also , which floor option is best if radiant heating elements are installed below the planks … does that makes the flooring safer or worse?
THANKS!!
Julietta says
Great info! What do you think of Golden Arowana sold at Costco? Any concerns?
Thanks !
Michele says
Thank you so much for your article. I had no idea. We have laminate or vinyl in our apartment, brand new when we moved in. My daughter has respiratory issues since childhood and other medical issues. We are purchasing a new manufactured home that has carpet but has either laminate or vinyl (going to ask next week) in the kitchen and bathrooms already. All new. I was planning to rip out the carpet and have laminate or vinyl installed but after hearing of the chemicals and health risks, I am not considering now going that route. I need to prevent as many risks to my daughters’ health as possible. Is carpet then better than laminate or vinyl? I don’t know what to do. We always tried to avoid carpet because it seem less healthy. Any advice, suggestions you can give is greatly appreciated? Going to look further into your blog for other stories. ITs great having a resource like you. Coffee coming.. 🙂
THANK YOU so much again..
Mariane says
She has a post on all the different flooring from green to less green and carpet deft seems worse than laminate. I personally chose to go with laminate over vinyl and others for the price point and the green guard certification. Tile is a great option if no lead but I don’t love the hard floors for little ones to fall. Just another moms insight. I hope your little one get better. Living a non toxic life is so hard sometimes.
Corinne says
-some brands of carpet are 0 VOC but most have PFAS (see the carpet post), I would avoid high offgassing brands of carpet
-laminate is the highest offgassing of the three (if you compare with better carpet brands) by a long shot, with elevated formaldehyde for at least the first few months
-LVP vinyl has practically no offgassing but a big question mark about the plasticizers
(Vinyl sheet if that is what you have is much higher in offgassing than LVP and is something I would avoid)
Mariane says
Hi Corinne,
My husband found the home decorators collection at Home Depot that would come with the polypropylene underpayment already. They claim to be waterproof. Is that a concern since we don’t know what they use? It’s green guard gold certified. Is that a good option? Also, it’s been purchased at Home Depot and mowings in my garage, would you say it probably already offgass a lot since it didn’t come straight from supplier? Thank you.
Corinne says
it would need some air flow between boards to offgas. other questions I talk about in the article
Mariane says
Thank you. I will make sure we open them. But in terms of brand and being that the only available type from home decorator was the waterproof kind, is that probably a safe product? I could not find info on what makes them waterproof.
Also, if we installed it and left that room unused and closed would that be an issue for the rest of the home? In terms of off gassing. Thanks so much. Sending you some coffee money. =)
Corinne says
the room also should have some air exchange
Mariane says
Got it. If we installed it from the box in a room and closed the room for nobody to use it and had a window open plus air purifier in there at all times, would that be good enough?
Praful Lalchandani says
Any experience with Aquaguard from Floor and Decor. They claim to be GreenGuard Gold compliant, but should I be suspicious given they are not manufactured in the USA?
Corinne says
The GGG certification would catch anything that is very wrong with offgassing. I’ve seen it and it seems normal to me in terms of offgassing.
Praful Lalchandani says
I am considering laminate from https://www.urbanfloor.com/product/archer/ and I have a few questions:
– They say they are CARB II compliant (https://www.urbanfloor.com/safety-sustainability/) but say nothing about Green Gold. Is CARB II less stringent or more when it comes to formaldehyde emissions?
– They say they are ‘water resistant’ – does this increase the likelyhood of emissions?
Mariane says
Would you consider an improvement to remove traffic master carpet from a room for baby and put Shaw laminate instead? My husband wants a more affordable option and he doesn’t want tile. The carpet has been there for a bit over 4 years.
Thanks so much
Christine says
Hi, I’m considering a laminate flooring -Mohawk Revwood Plus.
Do you consider this product to be similar in composition and “safety” (regarding off-gassing) to Pergo Portfolio +?
I’m asking because you provided a short consultation with me in 2020/2021 and we determined that the Pergo was likely a good choice for our home with two chronically ill (neurological) kids. Unfortunately, the color of the Pergo is discontinued and we need to choose another flooring.
Corinne says
If the product was in storage and not brand new straight from the supplier it changes things. Brand new laminate, doesn’t matter the brand, will have some offgassing of formaldehyde for the first few months at least. If you are buying new, I would consider engineered wood (certain brands in the post on engineered wood) and hybrid which I also talk about in the same post.
Megan says
Christine did you end up getting Mohawk’s Revwood Plus? I’m considering that too. Sales rep is telling me it’s formaldehyde free (what!?) but I’m waiting on materials safety data sheet. I’m also told they are Green Guard certified (but does not say Gold).
Corinne says
All laminate is made with formaldehyde.
Megan says
Update- I talked to the Mohawk technical department today regarding Revwood and learned they are not Green Guard certified but all their flooring is certified CARB and floor score (@ the “TVOC Less than/equal to 0.5 mg/m3” level). He told me they do not use formaldehyde in Revwood but wouldn’t tell me what they use instead as binding agent – “Proprietary info”.
Product safety data sheet was pretty useless other than listing “VOC w/w” as
<9ng/m3.
Just putting this out there in case anyone else is considering Revwood.
Corinne says
Wow OK I will have to get in touch with them. They would be the only laminate flooring without formaldehyde. It’s shocking that they wouldn’t write that on the product page. The only other glue for this kind of fiberboard is MDI which also offgasses around the same amount.
Megan Blakeslee says
Right!? Can’t believe they wouldn’t advertise that. I went into a local flooring shop this morning and the Mohawk rep happened to be there. I asked him about the binding agent for Revwood. He also said no formaldehyde and said it is a “water-based glue”.
Alie says
What do you think of evoke floorings laminate?
https://evokeflooring.com/us/products/surge
It claims to have a wood composite core free of hdf or mdf. Do you think this would offgas less?
Corinne says
They don’t say what it is. This is a new trend in laminate floors where there might be a slight modification to try to make it more waterproof. The only thing they really say about Evoke Surge is: “manufactured differently from traditional laminate’s HDF—the wood fibers are ground more finely to allow them to be encapsulated in resin and therefore unable to absorb moisture.” Resin is normally formaldehyde and I would expect that here. Perhaps there is another additive to make it more waterproof but they don’t say what it is.
Alie says
Hmm thanks for the response. It is a green guard gold certified, so even if it is a formaldehyde based resin it would be offgassing at safe levels, correct?
Corinne says
laminate can meet green guard gold, it’s probably at the upper limit of formaldehyde.
Ro says
Hi! Thanks for this information. I’ve seen articles saying that laminate from China may not be safe. I’ve seen brands that are made in China, but are also Greenguard Gold certified. If a laminate is Greenguard Gold certified, is it safe regardless where it is made? Thank you!
Usha says
Thank you for the detailed post! Woud you recommend the cali bamboo brand (which offers LVP flooring)? The brand claims no-detectable formaldehyde as per independent testing.
Catherine says
I recently had water damage in my mobile home. They opened up the underlayment and the laminate to install and a very strong toxic odor poured out. I argued with them to not use it and was dismissed. I was told it would take weeks to get a different flooring. I let them proceed. I got very sick from it and my doctor told me to stay elsewhere. The odor permeated the house. I removed the flooring. 500sq ft. I cannot find any warnings from the company that made the laminate. The underlayment didn’t have any references not even a name. Now the contractor who knew I was sensitive ( its in the contract) won’t give me my money back. Thank God I’m not sick anymore but I’m walking around on plywood. I guess any laminate gives off VOCs and some are more allergic than others.
Connie says
Which country ?
And where was the laminate made in?
Were there any type of certifications?
Annette says
Hope you can help.Do you know if Newton laminate flooring is greenguard certified? Also the country it is manufactured in? Having a difficult time finding safe flooring for my family.Thank you.
Corinne says
You will have to ask the company.
Jaime says
Would you say that if someone only has mild sensitivities (I was recently in a home with newly installed laminate flooring that was not even green guard gold certified and had no issues) that Home Depot brands would be safe? I just worry about the overall level of VOCs if it’s installed in the whole house even if the individual pieces are low voc.
Corinne says
It doesn’t matter which brand of laminate it is in terms of offgassing levels
Cbpep says
Did you evaluate aqua guard laminate? It was not listed in your article.
Corinne says
They are all virtually the same. I mention the “waterproof” claim.
Denise H Chustz says
Hi, Im looking at buying the Pergo floor from Lowes. I reached out to Pergo and they claimed to be floorscore certified with total VOC of <=0.5 mg/m3 Do you think this a safe level ?
Corinne says
All of these laminate floors have *extremely* similar composition (almost identical).
Chrissy O’Donnell says
Hi Corinne,
I live in a floor unit condo. I bought a laminate flooring from Homr Depot, installed 2017. I did the living room only.
I notice a strong odor when my unit is closed up for several days. especially in Summer. It still has some residual “ smell” but not as strong.
How can I get this odor evaluated?
What agency could help identify it?
Please advise. Thank you
Corinne says
Hi I would do an air test for formaldehyde through Prism Analytics.
Katie says
Any thoughts or experience with LifeProof laminate flooring? (Might be staying somewhere that has recently installed it in the last 1-2 weeks).