With most of us looking to get an eco-friendly home, what are the steps you can take in your house to help you get there?
The best place to start is with the long-term fittings and fixtures. These are the things that are going to last for years, so its important to get these right from the off-set. When it comes to your bathroom or kitchen for example, you might feel a little lost as to how you can make sure this room is as eco-friendly as possible. Luckily, there are a number of materials on offer that will help on your journey to a smaller carbon footprint.
Stone
One of the best natural materials you can choose would be stone. It’s non-manufactured material means that minimal processing is required, just the cutting of the material in to shape. Because of this, stone doesn’t use any chemical glazes or treatments that would be potentially harmful to the environment. Natural, untreated stone tiles are perfect for bathroom floors since they have a lot of natural grip. Stone floor tiles therefore help to solve the age old issue of slippery tiles when getting out of the bath or shower. Stone is also incredibly durable and will unlikely ever need replacing in your lifetime. This gives it a great environmentally friendly aspect since you won’t need to contribute to the manufacturing of more tile to replace your broken or old ones. Similarly, stone tiles are timeless and would fit with any design or interiors scheme seamlessly, eliminating the need to redecorate.
Glass
An alternative to stone would be glass. You might not think of using glass tiles, but they are actually great for environmentally conscious homeowners. A lot of mosaic tile use recycled glass to get their shine. This greatly helps to reduce the amount of glass that ends up in landfills and will put you one step closer to a that smaller carbon footprint.
Ceramic
A true classic, ceramic tiles give you an incredibly long life. Their strength makes them difficult to break or scratch so are great for high traffic areas like kitchens or hallways. Chemical manufacturing is a huge contributor to emissions, but ceramic tiles are actually created by exposure to high heats in a kiln. This more natural way of making tiles is far better environmentally than other manufacturing methods. Being made from clay, ceramic tiles don’t emit any volatile organics in their creation. Similarly, because of the way they are made, they can also be cleaned with natural ingredients oftentimes needing only warm water and pH-neutral cleaning products.
Trying to get a truly environmentally friendly home is difficult, but that doesn’t mean the foundations of your designs have to be difficult too. Tiles are a great material for helping to further shrink your carbon footprint thanks to their strength, longevity and low maintenance. Another thing to consider is where your tiles are coming from. With a little research you can see exactly how far your tiles will have travelled. Less travel time means your tiles will have contributed less to emissions, giving a nice little extra sense of eco-friendly buying.