Flooring for open plan space

[SUZIE2SHOES]

I had been intending to purchase an LVT product for our open plan kitchen/dining/living space but have just read about the toxic properties of LVT flooring ie it states " The phthalates in the flooring, on the other hand, can become a significant problem for you and your family. While many phthalates have regulations prohibiting them from being used in children’s toys and other examples, no current regulations are banning or limiting their use in vinyl flooring products." There is also no safe environmental way of disposing of LVT so it has really put me off. Can anyone recommend an alternative durable/waterproof flooring? We have a dog so don't really want carpet.

We have wood look tiles which are pretty bombproof in terms of cleaning/maintenance (except the grout does get a bit grubby over time but at least it’s a mid colour to start with).

However we have underfloor heating, I’m not sure I’d choose tiles if you’re not having ufh as they will be freezing in winter.

Bamboo or cork might be worth investigating?

By the way your post is about LVT but the link is about wood flooring?

thank you minipie. with regard to the link you are quite right! How odd, but then I am easily confused. I didn't think I shared a link. This is what I was reading together with a nother article saying pretty much the same thing. https://artisanwoodfloorsllc.com/hardwood-flooring-blog/the-dangers-of-luxury-vinyl-floors-lvt-and-how-you-can-avoid-them/ . As you say, I think tiles would be too cold underfoot. I am completely ignorant about bamboo and cork but have bad memories of cork tiles somewhere in my dark distant past. I will definitely look into these options though

I have also gone with wood effect tiles. I looked at LTV but decided against it for a number of reasons. The tiles look great, they cover the kitchen, dining and living area and run into the utility. I don’t need to worry about leaking washing machines and just throw a mop over it.

@Stripedbag101 do you have underfloor heating? If not how do you find the warmth of the tiles underfoot?

a quick google shows that there are quite a few phthalate-free options - including karndean which my parents had in their kitchen and was incredibly hardwearing/easy maintenance so was in the back of my mind for our new house (fingers crossed all goes to plan!)

Polyflor also do phthalate-free options. I have their Georgian oak LVT down all downstairs and it’s amazing - has been down2.5 years and still looks as good as new. They have a statement on their green credentials on their website - https://www.polyflor.com/jh/web.nsf/environmentpages/maximising-breeam-credits

We went for Karndean. It specified that it is BPA, phthalates and formaldehyde free.

No underfooor heating. The tiles are Matt not glossy and I have a large rug I. The living area. I don’t find them cold at all - and am usually barefoot