These options may be the best for you if you have a family
If you are giving a thought to redo your floors, there can sometimes be a lot of confusion on what to choose. On the top of that, if you have children in the family, the confusion gets worse, since you have to consider the safety of your family as the top priority. The choices you have to make will also narrow down your options even further.
The problem however is that, your new flooring will get a lot of scratches from the plastic wheels, toys and dragging of various items across the floor. You may consider waiting for your children to grow up so that you may not face such problems. If, however, waiting is not an option for you, you can take a look at different options in the market. There are many types of flooring available in the market that are strong, robust and can sustain all the damage inflicted by children.
Since the safety of your family is of the utmost importance, you must realise that some flooring may emit harmful fumes as well, which may be dangerous to your family, especially children. In that case, floating flooring may be installed; which doesn’t require any glue or fastener and is devoid of hazardous fumes.
Selecting the best flooring for your family can be a difficult task. Read the complete article to make it easier!
Flooring types for families
Our latest tests of flooring products found some wood and bamboo winners, including an oak flooring that fended off the effects of foot traffic nearly as well as the best vinyl’s and laminates. But we also found that some bamboo, cork, and other “green” products can be far less robust than others.
However, our tests that simulated exposure to scuffs, scratches, sunlight, dents, and spills also confirm that most woods and even some vinyl and laminate floors can wilt under life’s daily grind.
Knowing how rough you’ll be can help when choosing. If you’re putting down flooring in a dining room that you rarely use, you can consider the top engineered wood or bamboo in our Ratings. Both engineered products offer the beauty of natural veneer along with easy installation. But if you have a busy family and you’re re-flooring a high-traffic area—think dragged and dropped toys and food, high chairs, and spilled drinks—you’ll want durability as well as looks. The best solid wood, laminate, and vinyl in our Ratings were also best in our simulated foot-traffic tests.
Flooring and children’s health
Here are some health issues to consider before you shop for flooring, especially if you have kids:
Vinyl floors bearing the flooring industry’s FloorScore certification emit relatively low levels of volatile organic compounds. (All the flooring models we recommend in our Ratings have this certification.) VOCs are linked to respiratory illnesses and can cause headaches and dizziness.
Despite the versatility and durability of vinyl, some groups, including the nonprofit Center for Health, Environment & Justice, advise against buying any vinyl flooring, particularly for homes with small children, citing vinyl’s lead and phthalate risks.
The complete article can be accessed via the following link:
