The Best Flooring for Pets and Children
We all want beautiful flooring in our homes, whether it be hardwood, vinyl, tile, or carpet. Any type of flooring can be beautiful in your home, but some are more durable than others. It is important to consider durability when you have four legged friends and toddlers running around. As we go through the options, keep in mind that all flooring options are great, and there are many pros and cons of each. Some options are just better for kids and pets than others. Without further ado let us, Floor De Lis Flooring, go through the different options with you!
Who doesn’t love carpet? It is cozy, warm, and comfortable. It is easy on babies’ knees as they learn to crawl and on older children’s feet as they walk around on the carpet in their bedrooms. On the other hand, carpet is not the most durable. When carpet is walked on over a long period of time, the fluffiness goes flat. The colors also fade and appear dull. Now onto wood floors and synthetic wood flooring. Laminate, hardwood flooring, and vinyl are the best options for long term durability. Hardwood floors last forever if you take care of them well. They are easy to clean and are extremely durable. They do need a maintenance coat about once every five years. Laminate and vinyl are are easily kept clean and have little to no maintenance. You don’t even need any special cleaner to make sure you don’t harm the surface. Good old soap and water is perfect. We do understand though that some people do install the cheapest option of flooring to have in their home while they have toddlers running around and simple wait to get more expensive/long term flooring after. This is not a bad idea. This is like buying a used car for a teenage driver and waiting to purchase them a new car when they are ready. This is when we would recommend vinyl or laminate instead of hardwood. Hardwood flooring is a little more sensitive than vinyl or laminate and is something that takes some care and special time to ensure its longevity. Wood floors are more susceptible to water damage like juice spills or doggy leaks. It also can be scratched by dog claws, roller skates, tap shoes or that popping lawnmower your two year old has been pushing around the living room for the past six months. Wood flooring can be re-sanded if there are a number of scratches that you would like to get rid of. This is not the most cost efficient option though. After careful consideration, we think that with keeping durability, cost, convenience, easy cleaning, and aesthetics in mind, laminate flooring is the best flooring option for your home with pets and children! Laminate is pretty much synthetic hardwood flooring that was made to be stain or scratch proof.
Yes, we think that when considering every aspect of flooring in a home with pets and children that laminate is the best option. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make any option work in your home with pets and children. You just have to make sure you give your flooring the time and attention to keep them clean. If you are dying to have hardwood floors but are worried about your kids, put a rug down in spots with heavy traffic like the living room to protect the wood underneath. If you are dead set on having carpet all over your house, then invest in a deep cleaning carpet vacuum, or encourage children to leave drinks that aren’t water such as juice in the kitchen. You can make any type of flooring work in order to obtain your dream flooring!
We would like to say thank you for reading our blogs! We hope that we can help inform you on flooring options. If you would like to talk about flooring with us call or come in for a visit! We can help you get started on creating your dream home one floor board at a time.
