层压板计数器好吗?
Laminate countertops were a long-time staple of residential kitchen & bathroom construction, but they started to fall off in popularity around the time rockstars stopped wearing spandex, which was somewhere in the 80s. A trend started at that time towardsalternatives to laminate counters, such as tile, granite, quartz, concrete and soapstoneto name a few - but for the best quality in these countertops you also need a rockstar’s budget and a keen understanding of countertop materials - because some take a lot more looking after than others. Our feeling? Maybe the latest generation of laminate countertops for kitchens & bathrooms merits a second look when building or renovating sustainably for a greener home.
Having looked through the options, we realized that laminate counters have made a pretty strong recovery of late, certain manufacturers having paid lot's of attention to the sustainability and toxicity of the materials used, and so they are now much more commonly seen than other countertop materials (or cheese metal bands with brightly-coloured stretchy pants for that matter).
什么是层压板台面?
The term ‘laminate’ refers to any material constructed by bonding two or more material layers togetherand can apply to a range of products including plastics, wood, metal or particle board countertops.
以刨花板层压板柜台为例，它们大部分都是相同的——芯纸、树脂和三聚氰胺覆盖层与刨花板基材融合在一起，形成一个成品台面。没有一种产品是完全无毒的，因为含有三聚氰胺的高压层压板(HPL)本质上是一种合成工艺，所以你可以停止寻找一种产品。你能做的最好的事情就是找到一些比其他排放更低、毒性更低的产品。
The technical view on melamine as a counter material for kitchens & bathrooms
Melamine can be manufactured from dicyandiamide, hydrogen cyanide, or urea．现代商业生产的三聚氰胺通常使用尿素作为起始原料。尿素被分解成三聚氰胺酸，然后三聚氰胺反应生成三聚氰胺。传统上(这也是个别制造商的工艺或多或少会造成问题的地方)，它最重要的反应是与甲醛反应，形成高分子量的三聚氰胺甲醛树脂。这些化合物在热的影响下形成，然后固定在不溶不熔的模具中;这个过程被称为热固性。以三聚氰胺为基础的热固性材料含有交联聚合物，使固定的模具坚固耐用。三聚氰胺树脂通常与填料和颜料一起配制，可以模制成盘子、容器、器皿、把手等，或者用作层压板的复合剂或木材、纸张和纺织品的涂层材料，层压板台面就是在这些材料上制作的——刨花板结构与三聚氰胺制成的耐磨和不透水表面相结合。福米加(Formica)和美尔美(Melmac)是三聚氰胺树脂产品的知名商标，我们采访了福米加(Formica)，了解了他们在福米加(Formica)品牌下清理层压板工作台面的方法。
Finding sustainable green laminate kitchen & bathroom countertops
The definition of aneco-friendly counter top or a green kitchen countertopwill vary from person to persondepending on what exactly you are looking for. That could mean it is made with sustainably harvested materials, recycled materials,food-safe surfaces,formaldehyde-free and low VOCs materialsor that it is durable and long lasting (pushing back the replacement date).
If we're talkingsustainable homes and resilient homes, then the total carbon footprint also comes into play. But regardless of which green countertop you're considering, the final choice is going to come down to a combination of aesthetics, environmental performance and cost - and this is where identifying the best laminate countertops can help you find that find that sweet spot.
So, which are the greenest laminate counters?
Warning – not all laminate counters are created equal!We are all about high-performance construction here at EcoHome, but when it comes tochoosing the best interior finishing materials, our greatest concern in a modern airtight building envelope would be in regards to the human health impacts of poor air quality due to the building materials we select and the rate they off-gas toxic chemicals into the air we breath.
It's an unfortunate and unacceptable fact that many mass-market building materials are still produced by the traditionally polluting larger industrialists, without sufficient concern for ’red listed chemicals‘ or off-gassing.
Typical tract-home construction, built down to a price "traditionally" - which if you think about it, mightnotbe a good thing, and using thesetoxic building materials can lead to unsafe indoor air quality根据美国环境保护署(EPA)的数据，由于来自建筑材料和表面装饰的有毒空气颗粒，其污染程度可能是室外空气的5倍。Especially when you consider the fact that modern high-efficiency and airtight buildings keep all the polluted air in unless they're fitted with a properERV or HRV ventilationunit.
Since an increasingly large number of homeowners (and particularly children with young lungs that are still developing) are suffering from a variety of respiratory illnesses like asthma, we still recommend keeping toxins and carcinogens out of homes in the first place, so it's good to know which product labels to look out for when choosing the best laminate countertops.
One standard that is worth knowing about when selecting any building material would be the GreenGuard rating system, a certification process which most commercially available building materials will have gone though. If they haven’t, that could already be seen as a bit of a ‘tell’ in poker parlance.
One example we found for amanufacturer of greener laminate kitchen counters is Formica, who have certified all their counters to GreenGuard Gold standard. Gold is the highest rating, indicating the lowest amount of toxins.
Formica is one of those brand names like ‘Kleenex’ or ‘Windsurfer’ that have had the good fortune of coming to represent an entire category of material, so don’t be confused by that and be certain to seek out genuine Formica countertops by visiting an approved distributor or retailer if you want to find a better standard laminate counter. If anyone finds other brands of kitchen counters certified GreenGuard Gold and commercialized in North America that are as durable, sustainable and healthy as Formica's, please let us know in the comments below.
What does GREENGUARD gold certified mean on a laminate countertop?
The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) Certification program helps manufacturers create, and buyers identify, productsand materials that have low chemical emissions, improving the quality of air in which the products are used. The standards establish certification procedures including test methods, allowable emission levels, product sample collection, testing, as well as to program application processes, toxicity limits and acceptance for certification.
The GREENGUARD certification procedure identifies interior products and materials with low chemical and particle emissions. Being GREENGUARD certified provides assurance to consumers that products designed for use indoors meet strict chemical emissions limits. Importantly, GREENGUARD certification supports sustainability claims made by manufacturers by backing them with scientific data from an unbiased third-party organization - so EcoHome view it as this - if you're thinking of choosing a laminate countertop for reasons of budget, availability and sustainability, be sure to actively seek out a GREENGUARD Gold certified one.
Laminate countertop styles and scratch-resistance
This is where it becomes really tempting to snag yourself a laminate counter and save a lot of money．首先，各种纹理、印花图案、边缘样式等，意味着你有更多的外观，你可以成功地模仿其他材料，如花岗岩、石英，甚至不锈钢，没有维护、密封、染色、破损，当然还有成本的缺点。
Stone countertops for example, are not always as easy to look after as you might think. As I write this, I am reminded that the slate counter beneath my laptop is more than ready for an additional coat of food-safe sealant!
And secondly, today’s laminate surfaces are far more resistant to scratches and burns from contact with hot pans or purses with metal feet than older laminate counters. That said, take sensible precautions to make laminate countertops last as long as you can with a few small considerations: Identify and buy a branded product with a proven and certified pedigree for performance and low emissions (ie. independently tested & certified), when in a kitchen, don’t put hot pans directly on them and don’t use them directly as a chopping board! The very best laminate kitchen and bathroom countertops are more scratch and heat resistant than ever, but try not to test that theory and everyone stays happy!
How resistant are laminate counters to staining?
When choosing a laminate counter, I'd personally go for a more patterned and textured surfacethat mimics stone as my experience tells me these stay looking nicer longer, but it all comes down to how generally careful you and your family treat the home and your possessions - although accidents can always happen too!
Last but not least - harsh chemicals - let's face it, if you're using a cleaning product, nail varnish, hair color etc which is likely to damage a high pressure laminate countertop in a kitchen or bathroom - imagine what it's doing to you, the user, and your family - and go find an eco-friendly alternative!
Comments (0)
Sign Up to Comment