Category: General Home Improvement

Should You Use Waterproof Flooring?

When it comes to flooring, there are a variety of different options to choose from. Waterproof flooring is a great option for bathrooms and kitchens with a high risk of water damage.

Typically made from either laminate or vinyl, or a combination of the two, it’s not really known for being high quality. It can get the job done, but there are reasons why you are often better off going with something else. In this article, we will go over both the positives and negatives of waterproof flooring and if it’s something you should be using in your home or business.

What is Waterproof Flooring?

As previously mentioned, there are a few different types of materials that it can be made from, but they’re all constructed similarly. They’re a type of multi-layered synthetic flooring that usually comes in the form of planks or tiles. Due to the floor being synthetic, the design on the top doesn’t have to resemble wood at all. Anything can be printed on them. This print layer has a wear layer over it that prevents the design from being worn off and provides most of the actual waterproofing.

Positives of Waterproof Flooring

There are a few different positives that are worth mentioning about waterproof flooring.

Resilience

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This type of flooring can be very resilient, at least in the medium term. As long as you’re regularly sweeping, using a mop when needed, and maybe the occasional cleaning solution to return the shine to the boards, you will find that waterproof flooring is rather durable.

Comfortability

To some, the flooring is more comfortable than stone or hardwood, having a more padded feeling to the foot thanks to its construction usually including a layer of foam or felt. This same construction also allows the floors to maintain a more even temperature throughout the year. It can also be easier to stand on for long periods of time. You won’t be freezing your feet if you decide to walk to the kitchen in the middle of the night in the winter.

Affordability

It is surprising how affordable and easy it is to work with. In most cases, it’s the cheaper option to go for as opposed to traditional hardwood. You can scale your costs to your needs, buying anything from simple peel-and-stick squares, all the way up to high-quality luxury vinyl tile (LVT) that’s almost indistinguishable from what it’s imitating. If you’ve never installed flooring before, laying down vinyl flooring and the like can be much easier than installing wooden planks.

Negatives

Unfortunately, waterproof flooring does have its disadvantages.
Resilience (Again)
The previously mentioned resilience of waterproof flooring is a double-edged sword. While it indeed does last a good number of years, it has a rigid lifespan that cannot be extended by much.

The condition of it can really only go down until eventually it completely deteriorates, requiring the need for you to replace your floors entirely. Unlike wood, you can’t do anything like sanding down a scratch or making a new layer, as you would be cutting past the wear layer and destroying the design underneath it, as well as exposing it to the elements and defeating the waterproof aspect of it.

How long waterproof flooring lasts can vary wildly depending on a good number of factors. It depends on how well it was installed in the first place, the thickness of the wear layer, how regularly used it is, and the quality of the vinyl in the first place. This can be anywhere from 5 to 25 years. In a home with a lot of activity, expect to be on the lower end of this range. Remember that if you damage the flooring, you need to replace it. It’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to completely repair anything more than simple scratches without making it worse.

Resale Value

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This leads into the next point, that there is next to no resell value to be had for reused vinyl, let alone for the value of the house itself. Unlike hardwood and tile to a point, once vinyl is past its life span, that’s it. It needs to be thrown out. As a result, you may find that it may even decrease the value of your home by having it installed.

Buying more expensive vinyl with thicker layers and better materials can help, but at a certain point the cost benefits just begin to wear out and you’d be better off just buying stone flooring or the like.

Environmental Impact

Another complication with waterproof flooring is the negative environmental impact the manufacturing process has. They use toxic chemicals that may even stick around in the plastic afterward. These can then create harmful gases right into your living space. It should be noted that the companies manufacturing the flooring are aware of this and have taken many steps to reduce the number of toxic chemicals.

If you decide to get waterproof flooring, you will want to make sure you get ones that have low concentrations of these gasses, though none of them will be completely free of them. You will want to look at the FloorScore certification to see what flooring has the lowest VOC, or Volatile 5 Organic Compounds.

Subfloor Complication

Subfloors are another issue to consider. In an ideal scenario, vinyl can be installed right over the subfloor without any need to modify or remove anything. However, this can often be difficult, and a subfloor that is more aged may need some repairs and other extra maintenance for it to support the vinyl’s adhesive.

Care should be taken for the subfloor to be completely free of any loose particles over where the adhesive will go, as these can easily weaken the glue. Even worse, you will likely see those particles straight through the vinyl due to how thin and flexible it is.

Final Thoughts

Waterproof flooring certainly has its uses. It is cheap, easy to install, can come in just about any shape, color, and design, not to mention its namesake of being waterproof. That said, there are quite a number of tradeoffs that should give you a pause. It often doesn’t last as long as you’d want it to, there’s no easy way of repairing it once damaged to any significant degree, and it generally doesn’t offer the same value to your home that something like stone or wood does. You may find that a different type of flooring would give you a lot less of a headache.

If you’re in Colorado and in need of anything to do with hardwood floors, we are here for you.

Contact us here to get started.

Carpet vs. Hardwoods – Which Is More Sanitary?

Carpet versus hardwood: it’s a debate that feels as old as time. New homeowners have dealt with this issue for ages now and people come down hard on either side of the debate. 

When you are trying to decide between carpet and hardwood, you need to ask yourself one major question: which is more sanitary? Are hardwood floors or carpet more sanitary for your home and the people living in it? This is a vital question to answer because if you end up with the option that is dirtier and more prone to getting messy, you will have to clean it more often. Over time, this will cost you a lot of time, energy, and money. Additionally, you want the option that is going to be cleaner because that is better for the health and well-being of everyone living in your home, especially children or pets. 

At the end of the day, there is a cleaner, more sanitary choice, and it might surprise you.

Sanitary Properties

We all know what it’s like to get stains on our carpets. Not only is there the problem of getting the stain out, but it’s almost impossible to completely remove the effect that takes place within the fibers themselves. Dirt, urine, smells, and funkiness are brought out even more when stepped on, so the issues are never actually completely resolved. 

What’s more, the bigger problem is the allergens that come from infected carpets. Even if your family has a tolerance or lack of allergies from these things, the guests that you bring into your home may experience them. 

If you insist on carpeting part of your home, the best thing you can do for safety is using a vacuum that has a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Note that you will need to vacuum every week or two regardless of visible pollutants to maintain your carpet and enable the ability to get rid of major issues when they do arise. 

Steam cleaning is a popular choice, and this is an okay option, but it’s very important to dry the carpet after use. Opening windows and using fans are great tools at your disposal here. If the carpet isn’t dried, mold and pests show up. 

The beauty of hardwood floors is the ease and effectiveness of cleaning. A simple mopping gets the job done for good. No more dealing with things like nasty pet dander or dust mites. Bacteria is not a joke.

Visible Messes

One of the benefits of having a hardwood floor is that you are able to see messes on it much easier. If you stay on top of cleaning, that means that a hardwood floor will be a cleaner floor because you will quickly take care of any damage or mess that you see.

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Keep in mind, hardwood isn’t always the best choice when it comes to this aspect. There are times when you might not see a mess because it is on hardwood. A liquid spill, for example, often shows up easier on carpet, which means you will notice it sooner and clean it up faster. Depending on the coloring of your hardwood, you might not see a spill of any liquid and that might lead to it sitting, drying, staining, or doing long term damage. 

However, most messes will be much more visual on a hardwood floor. Whether it be a dropped piece of food, mud and dirt, or a mess from your pet, it will show up clear as day on hardwood. If you clean your floors once a day – even if it’s just a quick sweep – you will see the latest mess that needs to be addressed. 

For this reason, hardwood floors are often cleaner simply because the messes that end up on them are so much more obvious and don’t fall into the many nooks and crannies of a carpet, forever lost below the surface. 

Which Costs More to Clean?

This is a tricky aspect of the debate between carpet and hardwood floors. Many people want to know which one is more expensive when it comes to professional cleaning. Will you be spending more money on a hardwood floor or will you be spending more on a carpet? The answer isn’t that surprising: hardwood floors will set you back far less than a carpet.

Just because cleaning a hardwood floor is cheaper than cleaning a carpet doesn’t mean that tending to hardwood won’t be cheap. It will still cost you a pretty penny. Actually, it can cost a lot because most people will clean their hardwood floors far more often than they clean their carpets. Many homeowners who have hardwood floors keep a bottle of wood cleaner handy and pour a bit on the floors and mop it up at least once a week. The best wood cleaners that will really get the job done don’t come cheap. So while hardwood floors are going to cost less than carpets when it comes to cleaning, it will still cause a hit to your wallet. But staying clean is always worth it.

Cleaning a carpet is much more expensive than cleaning a hardwood floor for multiple reasons. For one, you will need a vacuum and those are usually quite expensive if you are looking for one that will actually achieve everything it’s supposed to. A vacuum is vital for a carpeted floor, otherwise your home will soon be filled with germs, dirt, grime, and other things that can do long term damage to the carpet as well as to the people living in your home. 

However, everyone who owns a home with carpet inside also knows that there will come a time when you will have to purchase the services of a professional carpet cleaner. Whether you are renting the tools yourself or hiring a firm that will do it for you, professionally cleaning a carpet is quite the process. First of all, it can cost more than $100 per visit. Secondly, you need to be home when the professional team arrives to clean. Thirdly, you need to do a lot of prep before someone comes to clean your carpet. Generally, you need to remove all of the furniture from the floor and have it totally bare so that the cleaning can take place. Plus, after your carpets are professionally cleaned, they can remain damp or wet for about a day more. 

The truth is that carpets get dirty much faster and much easier than hardwood floors and the cleaning process to take care of them is a lot more of a hassle too.

[Source: Unsplash]

Dirty carpets are breeding grounds for allergies. For those reasons alone, buying a hardwood floor over a carpet is probably the right approach when you are trying to choose the more sanitary option. 

Final Thoughts

Of course, you can still have a very dirty hardwood floor, even if it is usually cleaner than a carpet. However, carpets are higher maintenance and it’s harder to tell if they are actually clean or not. Hardwood floors are more sanitary and cost-effective when considering the time and money that goes into most carpet-cleaning products. 

The truth is that no matter which option you choose, you need to make sure that you are always attentive to your floor and buy the right products and spend the appropriate amount of time making sure it is as healthy, bright, and clean as it can be. Cleaning a floor, whether it is hardwood or carpet, is an essential part of owning a home.