Is Vinyl Flooring Toxic? A Detailed Investigation

Vinyl sheet flooring (vinyl resilient flooring) and vinyl plank flooring – both luxury vinyl plank and regular glue-down vinyl plank have different toxicity profiles.

1. Vinyl Sheet/Resilient Flooring

Vinyl sheet that comes in a roll is one of the highest odor flooring types in a home. Vinyl sheet flooring VOC odor is often noticeable even to folks who are not sensitive to odors.

Those sensitive to chemicals, have a higher sense of smell and reactivity to VOCs than most people and those folks do not usually use vinyl sheet flooring. In 8 years of materials specification, I don’t know of any sensitive client who chose vinyl sheet flooring.

Most VOCs emitted by vinyl flooring are probably present as contaminants in the various raw materials or as residues from the manufacturing process.

Ultra-low VOC, water-based inks are noted by some manufacturers but the material itself can still offgas.

VOCs from vinyl sheet flooring

Sheet vinyl can be in the 0.5 – 5 mg/m3 total VOC range, whereas vinyl click/vinyl plank will be less than 0.5 mg/m3 (and is actually much less than that).

The exact VOC composition has been measured in studies, but all of the studies are rather old.

The composition of vinyl sheet flooring could have gone through some significant changes since then. However, because the base material is the same there might still be some relevance.

In one study the following VOCs were identified (2011): DPGME, phenol, TMPD-MIB, n-tridecane, n-tetradecane, n-pentadecane, n-hexadecane (source).

And in 1999, the most abundant VOCs emitted by the sheet vinyl materials included normal
or branched alkane hydrocarbons, phenol (predominant across brands), TXIB®, n-decane, n-tridecane, n-tetradecane, benzyl alcohol, small amounts of aldehydes, decanoic acid, diethyl phthalate and siloxane compounds. All but one emitted diethyl phthalate (source).

This is just for the product itself. The seam sealers, cove molding, and glue to glue down the floor can add extra VOCs.

Phthalates

Ortho-phthalates, a plasticizer class now known as an endocrine disruptor, was commonly used in vinyl sheet flooring.

I don’t know of any company making vinyl floor that still intentionally adds phthalates, but it could still be found in vinyl flooring if it contains recycled vinyl.

Because ortho-phthalate plasticizers are not chemically bound to the polymer matrix, slow emission from the products to air or other media like into the dust usually occurs.

In a survey of popular vinyl sheet brands in 2024:

• Home Depot removed phthalates from vinyl flooring (source)
• Lowe’s has eliminated phthalates from flooring (source)
• LL Flooring (previously Lumber Liquidators) removed phthalates from flooring (source)
• Menards has removed phthalates from vinyl flooring (source)
• Mohawk has removed phthalates from all flooring they manufacture
• Shaw says “The resilient (vinyl) products we sell – whether manufactured by Shaw or sourced from others, both residential and commercial – contain no ortho-phthalate plasticizers (including benzyl butyl phthalate).” They only use virgin vinyl to eliminate contaminants from recycled vinyl (source)
• Tarkett says 100% of our vinyl production sites in Europe, North America, Serbia, and China are phthalate-free, except for recycled content for certain products (source)
• Karndean floors are free from BPA, phthalates, and formaldehyde (source)

VOC Off-gassing Times

The concentrations of a number of the dominant target VOCs and the total VOCs emitted by assemblies (which included paint, carpet, and vinyl sheet flooring) remained relatively constant or decreased by less than a factor of three over the period of two to twelve weeks (source).

Metals

Pharos lists Titanium Dioxide as a pigment, silver zinc zeolites as a biocide, and aluminum oxide in the finish (source).

The exposure of aluminum that we get from vinyl floors is calculated here.

2. Vinyl Plank & Luxury Vinyl Plank

Vinyl Plank, Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP), and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) are very low in volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and offgassing (and one brand is even 0-VOC).

But the bigger concern is about plasticizers (which all brands contain) and metals, explained further in the article.

VOCs

Vinyl plank and luxury vinyl plank are ultra-low in VOCs, with two brands having a 0-VOC line (Proximity Mills is one).

Most people find these flooring types odorless, but those like me with a high sense of smell can pick up a little bit of offgassing and plastic odor in most brands.

Those with a WPC (wood-polymer composite) core do seem to be slightly higher in perceptible VOCs compared to SPC (stone-polymer composite) cores and thin vinyl plank (which has no core).

WPC core vinyl can contain formamide as the blowing agent (source).

Also, attached cork underlayment and to a lesser degree some of the rubber underlayments, add significant VOCs in my opinion, however, it’s mostly blocked by the vinyl itself when installed.

Plasticizers

All vinyl plank and luxury vinyl plank is free of added phthalates now – though phthalates were replaced with an alternate plasticizer called Dioctyl Terephthalate (DOTP).

DOTP makes up 8-23% of the product.

The main replacement is DOTP (also called DEHT) which is used in all brands of LVP and vinyl flooring that I have seen. DOTP makes up 8-23% of the product.

Toxicological Profile

Dr. Mudgal, Toxicologist explains “though DOTP is widely used as a safer alternative to traditional phthalates like DEHP. Studies and regulatory reviews, including those under the EU’s REACH framework, indicate that DOTP has a favorable safety profile.”

“It has been deemed suitable for use in sensitive applications, such as medical devices. While DOTP has been extensively tested for acute and chronic toxicity, its long-term environmental and health impacts remain a topic of ongoing research. There is general agreement that its widespread adoption requires continued monitoring to ensure safety over time”​, she says.

Based on what we know about DOTP is that it is not a carcinogen, not an endocrine disrupter, and doesn’t cause reproductive and developmental toxicity (source).

Leaching

It also leaches very little from vinyl.

The Ecology Center cites concerns that plasticizers can still leach even if it’s not as much as phthalates and they caution against replacement chemicals like DOTP that are of similar chemical composition.

Bio-based?

DOTP is not a bio-based plasticizer, despite Cali Bamboo making this claim.

Though you would want to make sure they are not using recycled vinyl which could contain phthalates and other chemicals of concern.

Antimicrobials

The underlayment can contain antimicrobials, often not specified. Cali Bamboo uses copper and zinc.

The wear layer could contain antimicrobials, this could be silver or something else unspecified.

Possible antimicrobials include:

Poly hexamethylenediamine guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG), Nisin or Triclosan, silver (the most commonly used antibacterial agent) (source), Phenylthiourea derivatives, Copper and Cadmium complexes derived from thiourea compounds, Zinc, Zeolite (source), Peptides and cationic compounds, ionic liquids, especially those containing imidazolium cations with long alkyl chains, ionic liquids, HdmimDMSIP and OOMmimPF6 (source).

Metals

The wear layer is usually topped with an Aluminum oxide finish. The aluminum exposure that we get from floors is calculated here.

Other potential metals in vinyl floors:

• Organotins (a form of tin) can be used in the top layer.
• Antimicrobials can be used, in the wear layer and/or in the underlayment. I have seen various types, including Silver, Zinc, zeolites, and more.
• Titanium dioxide can be used as a white pigment.
• EHN found the heavy metal Cadmium recently in vinyl floors (probably recycled ones, they say). Cadmium can also be used as part of an antimicrobial.
• LL Flooring, Shaw, and Floor & Decor banned recycled vinyl to avoid the associated toxic contaminants like metals and halogenated flame retardants. Most other brands are virgin vinyl now as well. However, despite using virgin vinyl, LL Flooring lists Prop 65 warnings on many of their vinyl plank and luxury vinyl plank floorings for Lead, Cadmium, and/or Antimony.
• Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, and Mercury can be present and are only officially limited (not banned), as far as I have seen, by Floor & Decor.Though Antimony, Bromine, and Lead have been mostly eliminated according to the latest study.

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.