Let’s look at Forbo Colored Cork, it is widely used as a tack or bulletin board in our schools and in our homes, they claim No VOC’s. . . why then does it smell so bad?
First, what is VOC? (Volatile Organic Compounds) are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions. Simply put it is the ‘off gassing’ of a product.
You know that new car smell, that’s “off gas”; products and materials “off-gas” their chemical constituents over time into our living spaces. The VOC’s will then concentrate in the air, furnishings and collect in dust. New buildings and renovations have the highest level of chemical “off-gassing”. Because chemical pollution is invisible, the problem is easily overlooked. One sign that you may be breathing in hazardous chemicals is when you detect a ‘new’ smell, or a strong odor associated with particular products like adhesives, paint and Forbo Colored Cork.
Many VOC’s are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. VOC’s are numerous, varied, and ubiquitous. They include both man-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. VOC’s are typically not instantly hazardous, but instead have compounding long-term health effects. Because the concentrations are usually low and the symptoms slow to develop, research into VOC’s and their health effects is difficult.
Check product claims
Marketing claims need your special attention. Who hasn’t been caught buying something claiming to be ‘natural’, only to discover later that “natural” only referred to one minor ingredient while the others were far from it? Product label claims to check closely include “organic, low odor, solvent-free, low VOC, no VOC, zero emission, water-based” and “plant-based”.
Forbo Colored Cork claims “No VOC” yet a colored tint is used to make the specific color: Special Note – color tints themselves contain HIGH levels of VOC’s.
Have you ever smelled Forbo Colored Cork, it has an awful smell and it stays that way, it is continuously ‘off gassing’ either in our schools or in our home.
Use your noise, if it has an un-natural odor, then it has ‘off gassing’. If on the other hand there is no smell or only a normal smell it has no ‘off gassing’. What is a normal smell? Cork has its own scent just like an orange does. Cork is natural and is completely safe, by itself; it’s all the stuff that is done to it that makes it unsafe.
If you are already “stuck” with Forbo Colored Cork then you can use nature’s filters to help the air quality and remove most of the ‘off gassing’. Plants and soil bacteria are nature’s biological filters. Indoor potted plants work miracles by removing significant levels of chemical pollutants directly from the air. Even more remarkable is that plants remove high concentrations of chemicals within 24 hours and they keep working day and night. If new chemicals are introduced, even at low levels, they go to work on them too.
But remember when I made that promise in the beginning; Re-Core is so much better than Forbo Colored Cork. Well here it is; Re-Core is a product that uses a recycled material, it’s a core that fits into a frame and is covered with fabric, hence the name Re-Core.
Pick up the nearest water bottle, smell the bottle itself, remember to use your nose, do you smell anything, no you don’t, that’s because there is no ‘off gassing’. This is Re-Core. Now smell your cloths, cotton, polyesters and so on. You can choose any type of cloth for your tack or bulletin board. We have been around fabrics for many centuries and know that it’s safe.
This “floating-fabric” design means there is no glue; the fabric can be removed and washed. All you need to install this product is a drill.
Using Re-Core Floating-Fabric Tack boards, Bulletin boards, Ceiling Tiles, Acoustical Wall Panels and so much more means you’re using a real product for our schools and homes that does not contribute to the “off gassing” and is truly safe to use. You can use the “floating fabric” system to change the fabric covering to achieve different effects, prints, solids or add school logos or company logos as needed. You can order completed panels in a variety of sizes up to 4 feet by 8 feet and have them delivered to your door. These panels will be complete and ready to install.