The right decisions during the repair of an apartment determine the health and quality of our lives. The quality of life depends on our home, where we spend almost 2/3 of our time. A smart home is primarily a comfortable and safe home. What solutions make our home green?
Decoration Materials
Finishing materials must be evaluated in two ways:
- comfort (breathing / not breathing);
- safety (vaporizes / does not vaporize).
First, let's talk about comfort, because during the repair process, errors most often occur here. By the term ābreathable materialā we mean air- and vapor-permeable.
The vapor permeability of the walls is required in residential premises so that people can feel comfortable. Surfaces coated with a layer of gypsum plaster will absorb excess moisture from the air and help maintain a healthy microclimate. Walls, plastered with a cement-based mixture, on the contrary, are not able to absorb moisture. Such a room must be continuously ventilated to avoid stuffiness.
But so that the plaster can absorb fumes, the decorative coating of the wall must let air through. This shows its environmental friendliness.
Wallpaper
Most types of wallpaper are breathable - these are paper, non-woven, acrylic and glass. The same group includes natural wallpapers - this is jute, reed, bamboo, cork or wooden veneer with a base of paper and non-woven. Flizelin is a porous paper-like material made of cellulose and polyester. Textile (fabric) wallpaper - silk, linen, cotton, velor - is also breathable, have a non-woven or paper base.
Modern wallpapers can consist of several layers. If at least one of them does not let air through, such wallpapers should not be used in the residential area of āāthe apartment. Do not miss metallized, heavy vinyl wallpapers and silk screen printing. In addition, vinyl wallpapers evaporate harmful substances into the air. Only evaporated vinyl does not release substances.
Some types of vinyl wallpaper have a porous structure, leak moisture and air. To better navigate, look at the designation of the wallpaper - a label of moisture resistance. The more resistant the wallpaper is to moisture, the less vapor permeable it is. By the way, on the label of some wallpapers you can see the eco-label. This means that they have passed additional certification for environmental friendliness.
An important point is the choice of glue for wallpaper. Use starch glue to keep your walls breathable. PVA glue (polyvinyl acetate) is contraindicated. Drying, it creates an impenetrable polymer film on the wall. In addition, wallpaper glued with PVA will be very difficult to remove from the walls when it comes time to change them.
Paint
Impermeable film give facade, silicone paints, alkyd oil enamels. Enamels are also very difficult to remove from the surface of the walls. To apply a new coating on top of them will also be problematic due to poor adhesion.
For dry living quarters, use water-based paints, preferably acrylic - they will ensure normal air exchange.
Ceiling
If we talk about ceilings, then the most environmentally friendly finishing material is gypsum plaster, painted with water-based paint. Stretch ceilings of all types can not be indiscriminately considered harmful. If you are faced with a choice of suspended ceilings, first of all look at the manufacturer and the price. Products of European manufacturers are strictly controlled for compliance with environmental standards, the best samples are approved for use in medical and child care facilities. At the same time, itās ridiculous to talk about the special environmental friendliness of ābreathingā fabric stretch ceilings. The fact that they are able to pass water does not exclude their polymer origin - it is a polyester fabric impregnated with a polyurethane compound. And what difference does āstretch ceilingā ābreatheā or not, if there is a blank concrete slab above it. The fabric is ordered not because of its environmental friendliness, but because it better imitates a matte gypsum ceiling.
Floor
The story with the sexes is more interesting. Obviously, all varieties of natural wood should be attributed to eco-friendly coatings: solid wood, parquet or engineering board with a top layer of wood veneer, natural cork coverings. But there are nuances here. If you want the most pleasant feeling under bare feet, a coating of oil will be preferable to varnish, although less practical.
Marmoleum is a cheaper artificial coating, which is referred to as environmentally friendly materials. Its composition is close to natural linoleum, produced since the XIX century. It had a fabric base, saturated with vegetable oils, cork flour, etc. But in the middle of the 20th century, linoleum from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) began to prevail, in which only the name and physical properties remained from the old linoleum. Linoleum has long acquired the image of "cheap and cheerful", so the new coating based on natural components began to be called marmoleum to distance itself from PVC materials. The advantages of marmoleum: moisture resistant, durable, has a wide selection of colors and patterns for any interior. The disadvantage is the thin material, which is laid without a substrate. It requires perfect alignment of the floor, because it will be a cavity repeating its relief.
Ecologically friendly materials of the new generation with a few caveats include quartz vinyl tiles. Unlike linoleum and flexible vinyl tiles, there are very few vinyl compounds, so it practically does not emit harmful fumes into the air. The composition is dominated by neutral quartz sand, which gives the tile hardness. Physical properties and method of laying are similar to marmoleum - it requires a perfectly even base.
Separately, we will talk about harmful factors
- The heating of artificial floor coverings due to the included warm floor or direct sunlight can dramatically increase the evaporation of harmful substances into the air from laminate, linoleum, and artificial carpet.
- Harmful substances are evaporated into the air by polystyrene foam (expanded polystyrene), therefore we strongly recommend not using ceiling skirting boards and sockets made of this material in interior decoration.
- Avoid using OSB boards for interior decoration that include formaldehyde resins. The amount of evaporation from the stove increases sharply, not only from heating, but also as a result of wetting.
- When choosing furniture, especially for children, pay attention to the chipboard from which it is made. All open edges of products must be sealed (lined with an edge), including the shelves of cabinets. This minimizes the emission of harmful formaldehyde into indoor air.
- Do not allow mold to form. Most often, it appears in winter, when condensate settles on cool sections of the wall. Check in these areas a layer of external insulation - most likely, it is damaged.
- Try to avoid unnecessary Wi-Fi exposure. To do this, draw a LAN-wire in the plaster of the walls and draw the outlet conclusions wherever you may need the Internet. Then you will no longer need a home Wi-Fi router. If you canāt do without it, plug it into the network through a programmable timer-socket, which automatically turns off at night.