Introduction
Termite is a major threat to homes and furniture! Every humid and warm season is a time when termite is a problem. Termites are pests that are destructive to wood. Wood fibers are their main food source. If termites appear in the home and are not dealt with promptly, there may be hidden dangers to the structure of the house. The paths that termites travel will produce obvious linear pipes, making them relatively easy to detect. Their traces can be seen in basements, near foundations, and even in the walls. So, what about the termite resistance of engineered flooring?
Anti-termite Property
Generally speaking, the ordinary plywood or engineered flooring cannot prevent termites. The traditional method is to add anti-termite agents to the melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resin used in plywood. but this type of plywood has a higher formaldehyde emission.
The phenol-formaldehyde (PF) plywood we are using as the substrate has a lower formaldehyde emission. In the PF resin, some low-molecular free phenols penetrate into the wood veneer cell walls and cell lumens. After termites consume them, they will kill the symbiotic bacteria (Pseudotrichonympha grassi) in their digestive tract, making it impossible for them to decompose cellulose. As a result, the termites starve to death. Therefore, engineered flooring using phenol-formaldehyde plywood as the substrate has a certain anti-termite effect.
This is also the reason that the engineered flooring with a thin top layer has a better anti-termite performance. The permeation rate of free phenols is relatively high in the thin veneer, which means termites are more accessible to the toxic resin.
What if I want a higher termite resistance?
It can achieve a certain anti-termite effect by utilizing phenol-formaldehyde plywood as the substrate for engineered flooring . However, if higher insect resistance is desired, there are many widely used insecticides available for wood treatment. However, the insecticide agents in the wood may be released over time and may be harmful to human health. Therefore, insect-resistant treated wood is mostly used outdoors.
From another point of view, a termite infestation in a room may indicate a hot and humid environment. In such cases, it is not the only issue to take into account regarding engineered flooring.
