Moisture And Microbes-Sensible Solutions

The new flooring solution is a two-dimensional, highly resilient woven wear layer that delivers the aesthetic benefits of carpet, while also providing a durable moisture and microbial-resistant surface, more similar to hard surface flooring.

Physical design features and specialty treatments incorporated into resilient textile flooring solutions address all of the major biological contaminant issues that have been traditionally associated with soft surfaces.

Resilient textile flooring systems are manufactured with broad-spectrum antimicrobial preservatives with low water solubility and low toxicity, designed to inhibit actively growing odor causing microorganisms and to preserve the life of the product, thereby protecting the building owner's investment.

Other strategies coupled with the antimicrobial protection can further inhibit microbial growth. These include the use of walk-off mats, effective air filtration, humidity control, and the use of hot water extraction and/or sanitizing cleaners.

Resilient textile flooring may also be fortified with incorporated permethrin, proven to effectively control dust mites which can trigger asthmatic symptoms. This benefit is useful in school applications where asthma and allergy symptoms among young children continue to rise. Making learning environments safer for those with health issues and disabilities is a top priority in America's schools, and this new product innovation helps facility managers to meet the challenge.

In preliminary tests, resilient textile flooring products fortified with a dust mite inhibitor produced 88-96 percent dust mite mortality. Industry experts cite dust mites and mold as the two leading causes of indoor asthma.

The woven construction of resilient textile flooring further reduces the potential for flooring substrates to trap contaminants and allows for more effective removal with standard cleaning and maintenance equipment.

Cleanability

In difficult institutional environments, many factors can reduce the lifespan of flooring. Flooring in healthcare facilities can be damaged by spills from bodily fluids, medications and chemicals. Applications in schools endure a similar fate. Product solutions in these environments must be highly durable, stain resistant, and able to withstand repeated cleaning to maintain good IAQ.

Resilient textile flooring provides an aesthetically pleasing design with high durability and ease for cleaning and maintenance. The poly trimethylene terephthalate (PTT) face fiber used in its manufacture shows outstanding strength and has lower moisture absorption than nylon-faced carpets.

Routine floor cleaning in healthcare and educational facilities is imperative in maintaining good IAQ for occupants, many of whom may be immune-compromised (children and the elderly). Daily cleaning protocols in these areas include vacuuming as well as periodic hot water cleaning in problem areas.

Drying time has long been a point of concern for facility managers in healthcare environments, as most areas must remain accessible to patients and visitors 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. Traffic in these areas can be diverted for short periods of time, but there is a need for products that can be thoroughly cleaned with shorter drying times. Resilient textile flooring's drying time increases the product's maintainability, thereby also increasing the effectiveness of preventative IAQ programs.

Indoor Air Quality And VOCs

Problems stemming from moisture and microbial growth are not the only ones faced in maintaining flooring for hospitals and schools. Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are also a point of concern.

For people with respiratory sensitivity, VOCs can aggravate breathing problems; therefore, the avoidance of VOCs is of particular concern in flooring installations for hospitals and schools. Test data on resilient textile flooring indicate that it will meet and exceed the two most widely accepted testing standards for VOC emissions on soft surface flooring products. It has repeatedly passed the Carpet and Rug Institute's (CRI) Green Label Program as well as The State of Washington Protocol for reducing VOC emissions.

Because resilient textile flooring is a modular application, the amount of adhesive needed for installation is greatly reduced, and the adhesives used are fast drying. Resilient textile flooring is installed with no-VOC adhesives certified under the Carpet and Rug Institute's Green Label program.

IAQ & Green Building Design

Indoor air quality is part of the larger picture referred to as indoor environmental quality, and indoor environmental quality is a part of green building design. More and more companies and organizations are recognizing the benefits of environmentally friendly and responsible design practices, not only to preserve buildings for future generations, but also to protect sizable monetary investments.

Today's trend is to specify flooring made from recycled content, with components that can be returned to the manufacturing cycle vs. being added to the waste stream. Manufacturers, in turn, are producing more flooring products that are made from recycled materials and can be recycled themselves at the end of their useful lives.

The manufacture of resilient textile flooring allows for a tremendous reduction in material (face fiber and backing), thereby leaving a substantially smaller footprint on the Earth. The revolutionary use of a woven manufacturing process also provides significant opportunities to reduce waste by decreasing the amount of water used in the solution dye process for face fiber. This also allows for the removal of numerous chemical sources in manufacturing plants, thus eliminating emission sources that can cause IAQ problems for homes and businesses in surrounding areas.

Resilient textile flooring takes advantage of solar supplemented energy for its looms. The combination of reduced material content (30 percent less raw materials than a conventional carpet product), and the use of a lower energy production process provides for a higher performing floor covering with lower embodied energy.

Resilient textile flooring is designed so that all its components are completely recyclable. Products can be reclaimed at the end of their useful lives and all thermoplastic polymers can be recycled into similar polymer applications. Backing can also be broken down and used for backing in new flooring production, thus cutting manufacturing costs and passing those savings on to the consumer.

Indoor air quality's value to the consumer through increased productivity is still being studied, but most will agree that a more hygienic and pleasant indoor environment positively impacts occupants. IAQ has its effect on the way that students learn in schools as well as the way that patients heal in hospitals. Many interesting studies continue to be conducted on these key points. Meanwhile, resilient textile flooring makes many positive contributions to overall indoor environmental quality through noise control, and added warmth and insulation.

Case In Point

Below is a case study that outlines how the introduction of resilient textile flooring has improved indoor environmental quality in an elementary school.

Pleasant Hill Elementary School
Austin, Texas

Pleasant Hill Elementary School was built in 1985 in Austin, and is the educational home to children Pre-K through 5th grade. When the school was built, vinyl composition tile (VCT) was installed throughout most of the facility, with traditional broadloom carpet in kindergarten classrooms and open areas. After thirteen years on the floor, the broadloom products were believed to be contributing to a number of problems.

The carpet was visually soiled. Stains would not come clean, and carpeted rooms were odorous. At the same time, the VCT looked dull and dingy and contributed toward slips and falls as well as noise in the facility. The VCT was also showing black shoe marks and posing an overall maintenance problem.

Because the carpeted space was subjected to many spills and accidents, the traditional broadloom proved to be an inadequate solution. Microbial testing of the carpet removed from the facility showed that it was contaminated with viable bacteria and fungi, including Aspergillus and Alternaria. The carpet emanated a musty, pungent odor indicative of heavy microbial activity and it contained a high density of accumulated skin cells, a primary food source for dust mites.

The customer was dissatisfied with their flooring solution, and they felt that a hard surface flooring was the only answer; however, such a choice would still not alleviate all of their concerns.

While staining was not as much of a problem with VCT as it was with carpet, VCT did create other challenges in the space. Proper maintenance of VCT requires a great deal of time. The specification of VCT in areas that had been traditionally carpeted carried the potential of raising ambient noise levels in those areas by 300 percent-a detriment to the learning environment. At the same time, VCT could put children at risk of slipping and falling, and the surface would be hard and cold for children to sit or lie on.

Solutions

Resilient textile flooring was selected at Pleasant Hill Elementary for its ability to deliver the performance and durability of hard surface flooring without compromising the aesthetic benefits of carpet. The product's environmental attributes also met guidelines suggested by a green building program.

Made from a new polymer, PTT, the product's construction represents superior stain resistance and durability. Tests show that most organic stains on resilient textile flooring can be cleaned simply with hot water extraction and drying time is decreased to less than one hour following such a maintenance procedure. At the same time, the moisture impermeable wear layer ensures that the water used to clean the product does not penetrate the backing, and spills are also kept on the surface for ease of cleaning.

An incorporated broad-spectrum antimicrobial preservative, added to the product during manufacturing, inhibits the growth of odor causing Gram-positive and Gram- negative bacteria, both of which were prevalent on the existing floor.

Once the decision was made to specify resilient textile flooring, the old products (VCT and broadloom) were taken out, and the slab was treated with a natural hydrogen peroxide disinfectant. A barrier coat was then put on to seal any old adhesives. A zero calculated VOC, pressure sensitive adhesive containing a broad-spectrum antimicrobial preservative was applied to adhere the product to the floor. This product specification allowed for selective replacement of modular tiles in difficult areas as needed.

The end result was that the customer was able to provide a nurturing learning environment without compromising IAQ or aesthetics.

Valerie Bennett is executive director of the Envirosense Consortium Inc. in Kennesaw, Ga. The group promotes a proactive approach to IAQ issues through online resources and educational opportunities.

This article was compiled with the assistance of Rhonda Mitchell, associate brand manager for Solenium, An Interface Company, and Louise Mulherin, a consultant to Interface Americas Inc. For more information on resilient textile flooring systems, you can reach Rhonda Mitchell by calling (888) 279-9640 or visiting www.solenium.com.