Improving a home always brings with it a whole host of product comparisons and difficult decisions. When it comes to your flooring choices, if you pass on carpet, you’re typically left looking at either tile or hardwood or laminate flooring. These three popular options each have their advantages, but we’ll look at the four main reasons to install laminate flooring in your home.
Easy to Clean
Unlike so many other types of flooring, laminate is really easy to keep nice and clean. Unlike hardwood floors, where you need a cleaning vac without a brush roller to prevent damage, pretty much any suitable vacuum will work on laminate floors.
Laminate floors hide dirt and stains really well, which is perfect for busy households or ones with children or pets.
In the event you want to do a deeper clean, laminate flooring can handle cleaning agents like vinegar without a problem. A mop will work to scrub the floors, and yet you can also sweep or vacuum them.
Stain and Dent Resistant
Manufactured laminate flooring has come a long ways in the past decade, and can now stand up to a lot of potential harm that gets thrown its way.
It is very difficult to keep your flooring free of potential damage. Anything from pets claws scratching across the floor to a dropped appliance can be reason for damage to happen, and wood floors dent really easily. Likewise, tile is known to chip or scratch.
Laminate, while not impervious, handles these sorts of situations very well.
Combats Moisture
Laminate is not water proof, so lets get that out of the way up front. While manufactured, this type of flooring is susceptible to water damage. Leave water on for too long, and it will work its way through the gaps and start to cause problems.
In areas of high moisture or water, such as bathrooms, you certainly want to opt for tile or linoleum. Tile is meant to handle water, whereas laminate isn’t. Another option that works better than laminate for water is bamboo.
However, for all of the rest of your home, laminate stands up to moisture and water a lot better than hardwood. Since you won’t be having standing water on your floors very often, laminate represents the perfect compromise between tile and hardwood, which live on both ends of the spectrum.
Cheap to Buy and Install
Perhaps the best reason of all, laminate floors are really cheap when compared to other types of flooring.
According to a recent study, the average cost of laminate flooring was right around $1 per square foot. Compare that to the $5-$8 range that hardwood floor averages, and you’ll see how stark the price difference is.
Installation is also a lot cheaper. Laminate pieces utilize a tongue and groove model to snap into place, which avoids the grout work that is required with hard wood. Installation can cost 30-50% less for laminate floors.
For many, this sharp price difference is enough reason alone to opt for this style of flooring. Given all of the other advantages in addition, laminate floors can be hard to pass up.
Conclusion
Scratch and dent resistant, the modern laminate floor is the right option for busy households with pets and kids. Easy to clean and moisture resistant, this option is the most likely to stand up to the rigors of everyday family life. When you factor in how economical this type of flooring is, it makes it hard to pass up the next time you go to install new flooring.
Image Credits: Alexander Andrews
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