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Linoleum
 
 
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Linoleum (informally abbreviated
Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase....
 to lino) is a floor covering made from solidified linseed oil
Linseed oil

Linseed oil, also known as flax seed oil or simply flax oil, is a clear to yellowish drying oil derived from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant ....
 (linoxyn) in combination with wood flour
Wood flour

Wood flour is finely pulverized wood that has a consistencey fairly equal to sand, but can vary considerably, with particles ranging in size from a fine powder to roughly the size of a grain of rice....
 or cork dust over a burlap
Burlap

Burlap redirects here, for other uses see Burlap Hessian or burlap is a coarse woven Textile usually made from jute fibers and allied vegetable fibers....
 or canvas
Canvas

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain weave cloth used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required....
 backing. Pigments may be added to the materials used. The finest linoleum floors, known as 'inlaid', are extremely durable; they are made by joining and inlaying solid pieces of linoleum.






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Linoleum Floor
Linoleum (informally abbreviated
Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase....
 to lino) is a floor covering made from solidified linseed oil
Linseed oil

Linseed oil, also known as flax seed oil or simply flax oil, is a clear to yellowish drying oil derived from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant ....
 (linoxyn) in combination with wood flour
Wood flour

Wood flour is finely pulverized wood that has a consistencey fairly equal to sand, but can vary considerably, with particles ranging in size from a fine powder to roughly the size of a grain of rice....
 or cork dust over a burlap
Burlap

Burlap redirects here, for other uses see Burlap Hessian or burlap is a coarse woven Textile usually made from jute fibers and allied vegetable fibers....
 or canvas
Canvas

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain weave cloth used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required....
 backing. Pigments may be added to the materials used. The finest linoleum floors, known as 'inlaid', are extremely durable; they are made by joining and inlaying solid pieces of linoleum. Cheaper patterned linoleums came in different grades or gauges, and were printed with thinner layers which were more prone to wear and tear. Good quality linoleum is sufficiently flexible to be used in buildings in which more rigid material (such as ceramic tile
Tile

A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock , metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops....
) would crack.

History

Linoleum was invented by Englishman Frederick Walton
Frederick Walton

Frederick Edward Walton In 1864, he formed the Linoleum Manufacturing Company and by 1869 the factory in Staines, England was exporting to Europe and the United States....
 who patented his formula in 1860. In 1864, he formed the Linoleum Manufacturing Company and by 1869 the factory in Staines
Staines

Staines is a Thames-side town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and part of the London Commuter Belt of South East England, but remains within the postal county of Middlesex....
, England was exporting to Europe and the United States. In 1877, the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 town of Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy

Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth and is the largest settlement between the cities of Dundee and Edinburgh....
, in Fife
Fife

Fife is a council area of Scotland, situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire....
, became the largest producer of linoleum in the world, with no fewer than six floorcloth manufacturers in the town, most notably Michael Nairn & Co. Linoleum was first manufactured in the United States by the Joseph Wild Co. (later the American Linoleum Company) in 1874, in a town, christened Linoleumville, on the western shore of Staten Island
Staten Island

Staten Island is a borough of New York City, situated almost entirely on the island of the same name in the extreme southwest part of the city....
. In 1887, Sir Michael Nairn from Scotland established the American Nairn Linoleum Company, later the Congoleum Nairn Company, in Kearny, New Jersey, now The Congoleum Corporation of America.

Between the time of its invention in 1860 and its being largely superseded by other hard floor coverings in the 1950s, linoleum was considered to be an excellent, inexpensive material for high use areas. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was favored in hallways and passages, and as a surround for carpet squares. However, most people associate linoleum with its common twentieth century use on kitchen floors. Its water resistance enabled easy maintenance of sanitary conditions and its resilience made standing easier and reduced breakage of dropped china.

The best grades of linoleum were called "battleship
Battleship

A battleship is a large, heavily armour warship with a main artillery battery consisting of the largest calibre of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed, and better armored than cruisers and destroyers....
 linoleum", as a common use of this material was in warship
Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way than cargo ship....
s. Actual battle experience showed this was an inappropriate material due to its flammability.

Linoleum Edge
Linoleum as a floor covering has been largely replaced with polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is the third most widely used thermoplastic polymer after polyethylene and polypropylene....
 (yet still colloquially known as "linoleum
Genericized trademark

A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquialism or generic description for a general class of Good or Service , rather than the specific meaning intended by the trademark's holder....
"), which has similar properties of flexibility and durability, but which has greater brightness and translucency and which is relatively less flammable. The fire-retardant properties of PVC are due to chlorine-containing combustion products, some of which are highly toxic. Dioxin
Dioxin

Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins , or simply dioxins, are a group of polyhalogenated compounds which are significant because they act as environmental pollutants....
s are released by burning PVC , and are toxic even in very small quantities. While the polymer itself is generally considered safe, additives such as plasticizer
Plasticizer

Plasticizers or Dispersants are additives that increase the plasticity or fluidity of the material to which they are added, these include plastics, cement, concrete, wallboard and clay bodies....
s and unintentional impurities such as free monomers are considered a hazard by some: see the health and safety
Polyvinyl chloride

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is the third most widely used thermoplastic polymer after polyethylene and polypropylene....
 section of the main PVC article for more information and references.

Because it is made of organic materials and is purportedly non-allergenic
Allergy

Allergy is a Disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy. Allergic reactions occur to Natural environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are Acquired disorder, predictable and rapid....
 in nature, high quality linoleum is still in use in many places (especially in non-allergenic homes, hospitals and health care facilities). Linoleum tiles can be made to various designs and inlaid with various colors to form patterns reflecting the shape and use of a room.

Linoleum

Linoleum is natural flooring made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, limestone and jute. It is a rapidly renewable material. It is also hypoallergenic
Hypoallergenic

Hypoallergenic is a term coined by advertisers and first used in a cosmetics campaign in 1953. It is used to describe items that cause or are claimed to cause fewer allergy reactions....
 and has been awarded the British Allergy Foundation's Seal of Approval.

See also

  • Linocut
    Linocut

    Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised areas representing a reversal of the parts to show printed....
    , for the artistic use of this material in printmaking
    Printmaking

    Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable of producing multiples of the same piece, which is called a 'print....
    .


External links

  • — Sheila L. Jones, Georgia Tech Research Institute (Fall 1999)