Vinyl (PVC) Flooring

Flexible vinyl plank or sheet flooring.

50Moderate burden · out of 100

Cleaner swapSealed hardwood, tile, or verified phthalate-free flooring

How this score is built

What each input rests on

The three ratings behind the score, and the studies each rests on
Input	Rating	Evidence
Chemical hazard	4/10	In a Swedish cohort of 4,779 children, PVC flooring in the child's bedroom was associated with incident asthma over five years (adjusted OR 1.52, 95% CI 0.99-2.35), a borderline result the authors say to interpret with caution. PVC--as flooring material--and its association with incident asthma in a Swedish child cohort study · Indoor Air 2010 DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2010.00671.x · PMID 21070375 · Abstract · read 2026-10-12
Everyday exposure	4/10	Infants with PVC flooring in the bedroom had significantly higher urinary levels of MBzP, a metabolite of the phthalate BBzP (83 urine samples). PVC flooring is related to human uptake of phthalates in infants · Indoor Air 2013 DOI 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2012.00788.x · PMID 22563949 · Abstract, Results · read 2026-10-02
Persistence	7/10	unsourced input

Ratings are editorial. A study listed here supports the rating; it did not compute it. How the index is built

What this means for you

Soft PVC flooring can off-gas phthalate plasticisers, especially when new and warm. Hard, inert surfaces avoid the issue.

Evidence strength: moderate

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