Signs It’s Time For A New Carpet

Are you thinking about replacing your carpet? Having a hard time convincing the spouse or the landlord that it’s time? Flooring is one of the first thing guests and potential homebuyers notice when walking into a house and can make a huge impression, sometimes for the worst. Here are the top 7 signs that it’s time to get rid of that old carpet and trade it out for something new.

Water Damage and Mold

Water damage and mold are very clear indicators that you need new carpeting. Water stains are unsightly and hard to get rid of. Water damage can be caused by leaking pipes in bathrooms, kitchens, or ceilings in multi-story homes and can even lead to mold and mildew stains. Always make sure you monitor your pipes for leaks that can cause water damage.

Mold can be dangerous, at worst deadly to those with asthma and severe mold allergies. In those who are allergic, mold can cause hay-fever like symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, and red eyes. It can also appear rather suddenly, especially in warm, dark areas. The best way to prevent mold issues is by regular inspection. Look for green, black, or white stains that grow and change shape, or a musty, stale smell that won’t go away no matter what you do or how you clean. Purchase a mold testing kit to be certain you have mold in your carpet.

Wear and Tear

Wear and tear on a carpet can make a house look trashy and dirty, no matter how clean it is. Tears, worn patches that are nearly see-through, matting, fraying, and flat areas are all normal signs of a carpet’s age and sometimes can’t be prevented. Carpet fibers often become matted and frayed within just 3-5 years. A carpet can only be expected to last 5-15 years from installation, so if your carpet it starting to look a little beat-up then it’s probably time to replace it. Areas that see the most wear and tear are usually the hallways, stairs, and living areas.

Stains

If your carpet is stained beyond saving, it might be worth your time to stop hiding stains with area rugs and furniture and start shopping for fresh carpeting. Stains are usually just the result of normal wear and tear, though accidents do happen, and if they happen with red wine, mustard, or coffee, good luck getting it out. Stains make carpets, and therefore a whole room. A dirty carpet is a devalued home, so if you intend to sell or rent, it’s prudent to replace! To get more life out of a stained carpet, rent a rug doctor or other carpet cleaning tool, or call a professional to have your carpet shampooed.

Smell

The first thing people notice about your house when they walk in is the smell, and old carpet certainly has its own special aroma. Feet, allergens, dirt, and food stains can make a carpet smell funky after years of buildup. If your carpet stinks and you’ve tried everything to get the smell out, it’s time to replace.

Age

Carpeting is only designed to last between 5-15 years. Most people don’t replace their carpet that often, especially landlords who are trying to save money. How many of us honestly know how old the carpet in our house really is? The first places to show age are going to be the areas that receive the most traffic—hallways, walkways and entrances. If you suspect that yours is starting to get old, and is showing its age, it’s time to replace it.

Aesthetics

Maybe your carpet is just out of style, or you’d like to update a room for a fresh look. That 70’s shag carpet might have looked good 40 years ago, but will quickly date a room and put all your other decorating efforts to waste. This is also something you should consider if you’re going to be selling your home anytime soon.  Buyers and renters like to see new carpet in a home and are willing to pay a lot more for something up-to-date and in style. Make sure you look into regional tastes. Check with your neighbors to see what’s stylish in your area, or ask a local decorator.

Allergies

Carpets hold on to allergens like sponges. Dirt, dust, mites, pollen, and lots of other discomfort-causing substances are hiding in carpets, and no matter how often or meticulously you clean your carpet, they will find their way in there. Regular cleaning is important to maintaining good hygiene and health in a home with carpet. Still, a carpet can only be cleaned so many times before it starts to wear, and even the most thorough cleaning can leave allergens behind. It’s important to have your carpet professionally cleaned at least once a year in order to maintain the lifespan of your carpet, but keep in mind that cleaning it too often can shorten its lifespan.

How to Protect Your Carpet from Spills and Stains

It can be difficult to keep your carpets clean—especially when you live in a busy household of pets, kids, and messy dinners. General wear and tear is expected over the years, but stains and spills can make your floors seem unsightly and older than they appear.

Your carpets are a big investment, and you want them to last as long as possible and maintain their looks for as long as you can, but what’s the best way to prevent spills and stains in your household?

Here are five of our best tips for protecting your carpet from spills and stains.

1. Routinely Vacuum and Clean Your Carpets

One of the best ways to protect your carpet is to not let dirt or dust sit and let it sink down, which will make a carpet appear dingy. If it’s not removed, debris and dirt can get trapped into the carpet, making it more difficult to remove. Vacuuming your carpets regularly can help combat the dirt and debris in your home and help your carpets have more longevity.

2. Apply a Carpet Protectant

Although many carpets now come with a protectant like Scotchgard, if yours don’t have one applied already, you may want to consider doing so. This product actually repels liquids, blocks stains and even resists soil, so you can rest assured that a spilled glass of grape juice won’t ruin your flooring.

You can have a professional carpet cleaning apply a protectant for you, which will usually be an added expense on top of a cleaning.

3. Have a No-Shoes Rule

You never thought you’d have one of those households, but a good way to prevent stains is to be a no-shoes house. Shoes can track in all sorts of mud, dirt, and not to mention many germs that can track their way inside.

4. Take Care of Spills Immediately

It goes without saying that when you see someone spill a liquid or food inside your home, that you should clean it up as soon as you can. Use the dabbing trick (don’t rub stains!) so that you can get up as much of the stain as you can.

5. Get Your Carpets Professionally Cleaned

No matter how thoroughly you vacuum and clean your floors, one of the best ways to protect your carpets from spills and stains is by scheduling a professional carpet cleaning. Not only will this help your carpets last a long time, but it will also eliminate any deeply set stains that are difficult to treat with cleaning products you get at the store.

Carpet Cleaning Mistakes to Avoid

While your carpeting may not require the regular cleaning that other types of flooring demand, your carpet should be professionally cleaned once every year to 18 months, even if you vacuum regularly. Professional carpet cleaning extends the life of the carpeting and contributes to better air quality, reducing allergies and illness.

Do-It-Yourself Carpet-Cleaning Mistakes

Ideally, your carpet should be professionally cleaned. However, to save money, many people alternate between the do-it-yourself cleaning and professional cleaning. While the do-it-yourself approaches are far less expensive, they are almost never as effective as professional cleaning and involve a considerable amount of time and hard work. Depending on the method used, it is also easy for the novice to damage the carpet.

Beware of the three most common ways do-it-yourselfers (and inexperienced pros) damage carpets:

• Over-shampooing
• Over-wetting
• Failing to protect the wet carpet from furniture

Over-shampooing occurs when either too much shampoo is used or the carpet is not adequately rinsed. Both are practically inevitable with some wet do-it-yourself approaches. This is the biggest reason why even hard-core do-it-yourselfers should occasionally use a professional. If they don’t, the build-up of soapy residue can be impossible to clean out, leaving a carpet that is a virtual dirt magnet.

Over-wetting occurs when too much water soaks into the bottom of the carpet. Some backing materials cause the carpet to discolor if they get too wet. Some carpets will shrink, literally tearing themselves up from the floor. If the backing and pad get wet, it is very difficult to dry them, and you run the additional risk of mold and mildew problems.

When Should I Consider Replacing the Carpet

Carpet today is made to last about 5 to 15 years, depending on the quality of the carpet and the padding. However, there are a few signs that your carpet should be replaced.

Matting. One of the first signs that your carpet needs replacement is when you notice that the pile begins to stay matted down in the most frequently trafficked areas. This is especially true for carpets that are made of polyester fibers. Once the pile begins to lay down due to heavy foot traffic, there is not a lot you can do to get it to stand up again. Even getting your carpet professionally cleaned may not do a lot to renew its look.

Stains. If you are moving furniture, rugs, or other items to hide stains, it is probably time to replace the carpet. Even if your carpet has a stain-resistant coating, this treatment gradually fades over time, leaving your carpet vulnerable to stains. It is also important to know that not all stains are created equal.

• Protein-based stains. These are caused by baby food and formula, cream-or cheese-based foods, eggs, feces, and urine.
• Oil-Based Stains. These include spots from car grease or motor oil, hair oil and mousse, hand lotion, kitchen grease, butter, bacon, salad dressing, and suntan lotion.
• Tannin Stains. These include spots from alcoholic drinks, coffee or tea, fruits, soft drinks, and wine. Most jellies also contain tannins, but cherry and blueberry jellies should be treated as dye stains.
• Dye Stains. These include blueberries, cherries, grass, and mustard. Dye stains can be problematic as dyes are usually meant to stick…and they do.

Worn-out padding.

The carpet padding provides a cushion and resilience level and makes your carpet comfortable to walk and sit on. Additionally, the carpet padding also provides a noise buffer as well as insulation for the floor. General wear and tear over time will eventually reduce your carpet padding performance, and once worn out, there are really few options other than replacement. If you begin noticing wrinkles, unevenness, or a crinkling sound under your feet when you walk on certain areas of the carpet, that is also a pretty good indication that the padding may need to be replaced.

Bad smell. If it seems like your carpet carries a lingering unpleasant smell even after it has been cleaned, this could mean the residue from various spills, pet accidents, etc., over the years has penetrated deeply into the carpet fibers or even down into the padding/subfloor itself. Foul odors can also be a sign of mold or mildew, creating significantly bigger problems if left unaddressed. If your carpet seems to retain an unpleasant smell regardless of what you do, it would be in your best interest to have the carpet replaced.

Are bare feet bad for hardwood floors?

Most parents and professional cleaners have a legitimate reason for wanting to keep outdoor shoes, well, outdoors, and that has to do with keeping the soles of our shoes from tracking dirt, grime, toxins like pesticides and industrial pollution, and traces of both human and animal waste into our homes. Outdoor shoes are even known to offer free passes to bacteria that can cause health issues, although that risk could be slightly exaggerated, according to The New York Times.

Many cultures practice shoe-free homes across Asia and the Middle East. But is the option of going barefoot — or perhaps just wearing soft fluffy slippers — at home a habit we should all be adopting? According to some podiatrists, the answer is a resounding, “no.” And it’s not because they aren’t concerned about having us invite a few germs and some grime into the house. Rather, they worry that going barefoot around the house could open up our feet to developing different types of structural injuries.

Hardwood Floors May Be Killing Your Feet

“My feet are killing me” is a common phrase we hear from patients suffering from foot and heel pain. Your hardwood floors may not actually be killing you, but they are likely irritating your feet. The days of green shag carpet—which offered shock absorption and comfort for our feet—have been replaced by stiff surfaces like hardwoods, laminates, and tile that cause more wear and tear on our feet. So if you find yourself missing the days of green shag carpet, you are not alone. Your feet miss it too!

Where do you find long stretches of concrete sidewalks, tile floors, or hardwood floors occurring naturally? The answer is nowhere. Humans have been wearing variations of shoes for thousands of years, but the increase in foot and heel pain may be related to more recent decorative changes.

As we’ve moved from shag carpets to laminates, hardwood, and tile floors, our feet have paid the price. More and more people have begun suffering from plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the tissues at the bottom of the foot and a leading cause of foot pain. This can lead to pain in the arches or heels of the foot, which worsens when the foot pronates or flattens on hard surfaces. The pain can be severe and debilitating.

Noninvasive treatments to consider:

Did you know that chiropractors can do adjustments on feet? There are 26 bones in the foot, and just like the spine, the mobility of these joints can become restricted. When it comes to the cause of plantar fasciitis, studies have shown that “Reduced ankle dorsiflexion appears to be the most important risk factor.”  This means that reduced ankle movement is an underlying cause of the pain. Improved joint mobility can minimize pain and eliminate dysfunction.

Patients have had great success with therapeutic foot taping, custom orthotics, and of course, chiropractic adjustments. Over-the-counter insoles can be beneficial, however, custom orthotics do tailor to each foot’s unique arch.

The good news though is that nonsurgical management of plantar fasciitis is successful in about 90 percent of patients. So there is hope—even if you dearly love your hardwood floors!”

 As with most conditions, conservative treatment works best at the start of foot and heel pain. See a professional sooner rather than later if you are struggling with foot and heel pain.

Wearing shoes will protect your feet against bacteria and fungi

If you’re a germaphobe, this may put you off going around your house in bare feet for life: Your floors may be clean, but they can’t really ever be completely germ free, and walking barefoot indoors exposes your feet to potential infections caused by bacteria and fungi. These organisms first infect the skin, and then they may infect the nails, leading to thickening, discoloration and brittleness of the nails. Both conditions become not only unsightly but also contribute to an unpleasant odor. 

The best way to protect your feet is to pick up a good pair of indoor shoes, which you can change into when you get home. Doctors recommend looking for a pair that provides good arch support, particularly if you already suffer from a foot condition, such as weak arches or bunions.

Wood Flooring: 5 Costly Mistakes You Can Avoid

Wood flooring is one of the top choices, as it has been throughout the years. It adds elegance and warmth to a room, and it is versatile in that homeowners can add stains for changes in color or top with an accent rug for a softer feel. Many homes that have original wood flooring can use this as a selling point, and buyers pay top dollar for wood floors that are in good condition

1. Not engaging in preventative measures

Before anyone walks across the new wood floor, make sure to take some preventative measures. Place doormats at all doorways so that family members and guests can wipe their shoes before walking into your home. Cover the legs of all pieces of furniture with felt so that they can easily slide in and out without the metal feet scratching the floors. Think about strategic placement of runners and area rugs in high traffic areas. These are only some of the ways that you can be your wood floor’s best ally.

2. Using abrasive cleaning products

When it comes to wood floors, there are certain cleaning products and chemicals that should never touch the surface. If your floor has a coat of sealant or lacquer, you should use different cleaning products than if it is unfinished.

All wood floors can be swept with a broom or dry mop, but avoid using chemicals that can deteriorate the finish or warp the wood. If you use liquid floor cleaner, apply it to the mop or cloth instead of pouring it directly onto the floor. When shopping for flooring cleaning products, tell your vendor exactly what kind of wood floor you’ve got. And then proceed accordingly.

3. Forgetting about your pets and their habits

Animals can cause a lot of damage to wood floors, whether from an accident that is left untreated or from long nails that can cause scratches and dings. Clean up any spills or accidents as soon as they happen to prevent warping, and keep their nails trimmed. See your vet on how to do this properly. Additionally, if food or water bowls sit on the floor, keep silicone mats beneath them so that spills don’t seep into the floor.

4. Wearing shoes indoors

High heeled shoes can ding and dent a wood floor, so ask guests to remove their shoes, and always remove yours when you come into your home. These shoes are more damaging when they don’t have rubber heel protectors since they can basically become chisels that make holes in the wood.

Dirty or wet shoes can also cause the floors to warp and shift, so the best option is to simply walk barefoot or in socks when walking on the hardwood. Or, if you really want to keep your feet warm, wear comfy indoor slippers. Be comfortable, and protect your wood floors at the same time.

5. Using aggressive cleaning tools

Steam mops might seem like a good way to remove bacteria from wood floors, but they can result in serious damage. Use minimal amounts of cleaning products on your floors, and always use soft towels to wipe up the floors. An antibacterial floor cleaner is a better way to eliminate germs and bacteria on the floors.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate Flooring is a popular choice among homeowners and business owners because it gives you everything you would want in a flooring material: Beauty, durability, ease of installation and maintenance, all at an affordable price

There are many benefits to having laminate flooring. It can accentuate the design of your home and create a look and feel of sophistication and elegance. Laminate flooring is nice to walk on and if you have pets, they can walk on it as well!

Durability

Other than melamine resins, some types of laminate flooring are coated with aluminium oxide. Both substances make laminate flooring highly durable. It will hold up against scratches and dents.

Stain Resistant

Laminate flooring is recommended for homes where pets live indoors. This is because its top coat is either water-resistant or water-proof completely.

Easy To Clean And Maintain

Did a guest spill wine or coffee on your laminate flooring? Simply clean up the spill with a dry, clean mop.

REASONS TO CHOOSE LAMINATE FLOORING OVER HARDWOOD

Many homeowners appreciate the aesthetics of hardwood floors, as they add quality and value to living spaces and give homes a modern, refined look. It’s also made from real wood, so it’s built to last for many years and gives your home a gorgeous appearance. Laminate flooring is made to closely resemble hardwood floors but is not made from authentic wood. However, its many benefits make it an excellent choice for new floors. What follows are some of the benefits of choosing laminate floors over hardwood.

Price

Laminate flooring is much more affordable than hardwood, as it’s not made from trees. Instead, composite wood is pressed together at high temperatures to create it, and then an image of hardwood is overlayed on top of the flooring. As a result of this process, the laminate flooring looks nearly identical to the hardwood at a fraction of the cost. Decent quality laminate costs about $3/square foot, as opposed to hardwood floors that typically cost between $3-$5/square foot for lower end oak, maple and ash materials. Higher-end wood floors go for $5/square foot or higher. The installation costs of laminate flooring are on average 50 percent less than the cost to install hardwood floors

Ease of Install

Laminate floors can be installed yourself. It requires no glue or special tools. Most laminate flooring that resembles hardwood floors is snapped together in modular pieces. This is easy to do yourself and doesn’t require a professional. Hardwood floors, however, are harder for people to install themselves because special tools and techniques are needed to do it successfully. Tools such as a floor stapler are needed and although they may seem easy to use, there’s a definite learning curve for how to operate them properly.

More Suitable Environments

Laminate flooring can be installed in rooms that are partially moist, such as bathrooms and kitchens. However, hardwood floors can never be installed in bathrooms because it will warp and crack in response to surrounding moisture. Some types of the laminate can even be installed below grade in basements. Hardwood flooring does not have this same flexibility because it can’t withstand the moisture buildup.

Pet-Friendly

Laminate flooring is an ideal material to use for flooring in a house with pets. It provides great scratch resistance against cat and dog claws. In addition, by purchasing a thicker laminate floor at about 12mm, you can avoid the click-clack sound produced by a dog’s claws. Its naturally slick surface resists damage and dings. Hardwood floors, on the other hand, tend to scratch easily and ruin its surface.

Why You Should Choose Laminate

If you’re dreaming of hardwood floors in the bathroom but having nightmares about the cost, take heart. You can get the look of wood with laminate, which closely mimics the texture, color and graining of real woods. Laminate can withstand drippy towels and stand up to heavy traffic and dropped curling irons. It also resists even the toughest stains, from makeup to nail polish.

Some manufacturers do not recommend putting laminate in the bathroom due to the worry of water damage. Review manufacturer installation instructions and warranty information before choosing a laminate floor. If you choose it for the bath, carefully follow any special directions for installation and sealing, and take the utmost care to prevent water from seeping beneath the surface.

Texture. Laminate can look like real wood or even tile. For a more realistic wood appearance, the surface can be hand-scraped, distressed, and covered with authentic-looking knots and wormholes. And you can get laminate that looks like anything from polished marble to timeworn slate.

Finish. Laminate is prefinished and available in glossy or matte coatings

Shape. Laminate comes in strips or planks that mimic wood, or squares that look like tile. They can be laid in nearly any pattern, such as herringbone or subway

Reasons to Choose Laminate Flooring

When it comes to remodeling the floors in your house, it can be overwhelming to determine which flooring is the right option for your needs. While you most likely know what you do not like, which can help to narrow down the field, there still is a wide variety of choices left for you to sort through.

Bang for Buck

As mentioned above, laminate flooring is extremely budget-friendly. However, it is also incredibly sturdy and durable, giving you the most bang for your buck. What’s more, it is nearly impossible to visibly tell the difference between hardwood and laminate, thus it offers you the style and sophistication of hardwood without the hefty price tag

Durability

Just how durable is laminate? Laminate is typically constructed of four layers of material. These materials are fused together to create a soft, comfortable flooring that is resistant to sharp pet claws, heavy foot traffic, and even cooking and water spills. It’s durability makes it a great choice for hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, and even living rooms

Installation

Installing laminate flooring is not a lengthy process, which means minimal renovation disruption. One of the hardest parts of surviving a home remodels is dealing with the constant ruckus contractors and construction projects can have on your home and daily routine. Laminate flooring can be installed fairly quickly by a professional team. If you are looking for local companies, try searching for laminate floors in Utah or whatever location you are in. This can help narrow down your search to your local area.

Care

Laminate flooring does not take a lot of work to keep clean or well maintained. Dust can be seen clearly, making it easy to sweep up. Any types of spills, from food to water to even nail polish, should be wiped up as soon as possible; however, as mentioned above, the flooring is fairly durable, so spills should not leave a stain if cleaned up relatively soon. Laminate can be vacuumed and can also be wiped clean with a damp cloth or mop

What flooring is right for you?

Laminate

laminate floors look and feel just like real wood but offer outstanding durability and strength from an expertly engineered design.

Hardwoods

hardwood floors offer the beauty of natural wood with the convenience and durability of Pergo. Choose from a variety of styles and widths with engineered hardwood or solid hardwood construction.

Rigid Vinyl

rigid vinyl flooring stretches the imagination with sixty deep looks featuring authentic texture and extreme detail, in both wood and tile visuals.

A Step by Step Guide to Choosing Flooring

Choosing flooring is far more complicated than just finding the best-looking product. Several other factor—moisture, durability, costs, and more—greatly influence your decision. Follow these five steps in order to reach the flooring decision that is right for you and your home.

Will Your Floor Be Installed in a High-Moisture Area?

you need flooring that is suited for a high- or medium-moisture environment, such as concrete, ceramic or porcelain tile, or vinyl tile.

Do You Need a Pet-Friendly Floor?

You will need a floor with superior wear resistance. Some flooring that appears to be wear resistant often is not. For example, site-finished solid hardwood can easily scratch. Its saving grace is that scratches can be sanded out. Instead, try a durable flooring like ceramic or porcelain tile, laminate flooring, plank vinyl flooring, or even carpeting.

What Is Your Square Footage Budget?

You will find bargain laminate flooring hovering around this price; nothing gorgeous but it has a general wood-like appearance. Sheet and tile resilient flooring can also be found in this price range. Lots of gorgeous ceramic and porcelain tile can be found in this range–but tile is truly a labor-intensive installation.

Do You Want to Install Your Flooring by Yourself?

By installing your flooring yourself, you can often cut your entire flooring cost in half. Laminate flooring and plank vinyl flooring tend to be the easiest floor coverings for homeowners to self-install. Both are floating floors, which means that each board connects to an adjacent board (not to the subfloor). Ceramic and porcelain tile installation is not as self-evident as laminate and vinyl installation. Hone your learning curve on an out-of-the-way room, like a basement bathroom.

Laminate Flooring: Reviews, Best Brands & Pros vs. Cons

Stylish

Laminate flooring is making a comeback. Recent technology has enabled manufacturers to design laminate planks that replicate wood and natural stone. The latest styles feel like the real deal, too.

Affordable

Laminate ranges in price from $1 to $11 per square foot. There’s a massive difference in quality between the two extremes. You have to be diligent when shopping around

Durable

If you have kids or pets, laminate flooring could be the solution to your problems. It holds its own against liquid assaults (though not quite as well compared to vinyl plank) and stands up to muddy pawprints like a champ

Versatile

Laminate warms up living spaces and makes bedrooms feel cozy and inviting. You can install laminate anywhere in your home. Well, almost anywhere

Allergy Friendly

Seasonal allergy sufferers take heart; laminate won’t make you sneeze. It doesn’t hold dust and dirt like carpet. It’s also resistant to bacteria and mold.

Laminate Flooring Buying Checklist

Our laminate buying checklist will help you learn what you need to know before you buy whether you buy online or at your local store. It’ll help you get all your facts straight so you can make the most informed choice and get the most for your laminate flooring dollar.

Laminate Buying Checklist

What to know.

Laminates can go virtually anywhere in a home or business but that doesn’t mean they can go everywhere. If your space will be in an area of moisture like a bathroom or laundry room, you should probably rule out laminate. You can install laminates over radiant heat and at or below grade but you must be sure to pick the right one. Talk it over with your dealer.

Which Laminate is Right for You

What to know.

Laminates sure are tough and durable—but you need to pick the right laminate for the job. If you’re laying a floor in an office exposed to lots of foot traffic, office chairs on castors and high heel shoes, you’ll need to pick a laminate with a higher AC (Abrasion Class) rating. Matching the AC rating to your needs is easy.

Which Style Should You Pick

What to know.

A properly installed laminate floor is level, even and tight fitting. It should drastically improve the look of any room. However, trying to decipher what an entire room will look like from a small sample is something most people find very difficult to do alone. Considering the cost of purchasing and installing a new floor and the fact that you won’t be doing it again anytime soon, buying an hour or two of an interior designer’s time can be very worthwhile.

Color. As a general rule of thumb, the color of an installed floor can seem darker than the sample. That’s because you may be looking at your sample near a window or in a room other than where it will be installed. It’s also sometimes difficult to imagine the color you hold in your hand multiplied by the hundreds of boards that will fill your room. Darker colors tend to absorb light and lighter colors tend to reflect it. When in doubt about color, it’s best to get a second opinion.

Grain. Every piece of wood laminate displays a grain. Some grains are bold, with swirls, bird’s eyes and notches whereas others patterns repeat, and others still display almost no grain at all. To make it even more complicated, your sample represents only one board in a floor and the other boards will display slightly different grain patterns. So, do you like a grainy floor or a floor without grain? It’s best to decide before you buy. If you find deciding too difficult, a quick consultation with a designer can help you get to know your tastes.

Laminate flooring – how to choose, install and clean your surface

Get a smart floor in record time without breaking the bank with a practical laminate option

A breeze to clean and easy on the eye, laminate flooring has improved a lot in recent years and is a credible alternative to solid wood and stone floors. It’s usually a fraction of the price of the real thing, too.

Is laminate hardwearing?

In truth, it’s not the most durable option out there, compared with porcelain tiles or engineered planks. But recent improvements in splash-safe finishes, impact resistance and scratch protection mean it will easily cope with the wear and tear of normal family life.

What are the latest trends in laminates?

Styles have become much more varied so as well as the traditional look, there are also many more unusual designs. Some designs come in interlocking planks that need no glue and just click together.

What should I look for in a laminate?

Some laminate flooring can be noisy, especially if you have pets. An underlay will help dampen sound, but also look for versions with sound insulation. Laminate is also prone to electrostatic discharges, so if you tend to get shocked by car doors and shopping trolleys, it’s worth seeking anti-static laminate. An embossed surface, with the texture of stone or timber, will also boost authenticity.

How much does laminate flooring cost?

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for with laminate flooring. Thickness is a good indicator of quality. 
It is possible to buy 6mm-thick laminate, from £5-10sq m, while 8mm-thick versions are around £10-20sq m, and 10mm-thick laminate will cost in excess of £20sq m. Don’t forget to add the cost of underlay and installation to your budget.

How to choose the right laminate floor

Choosing the right laminate flooring for your home may seem a daunting task, especially with the suite of flooring available in the Australian market. Different textures, colours, grains, plank sizes and especially price points on offer may be challenges for many customers to absorb.

What type of joining system is used?

Laminate flooring is layed floating, not glued, with an innovative, yet, simple click system, called joining system, which connects the boards to each other. Many customers would not have this on their radar but having the most superior joining system for their laminate is paramount. The best joining system in the world is the Uniclic system – easy to install and providing a gap-free finish after installation. Using glue to fix the flooring to the sub floor may not be as secure.

What warranties are offered?

Warranties are such an important part of the buying process and laminate is no exception. A 25-year warranty gives you peace of mind in the long term. While a 25-year warranty may give you peace of mind in the long term, unfortunately, many long warranties are handed out prolifically and often a lot of warranties are void by default to due to impossible environmental conditions such as moisture. At times, other warranties look OK, but there is no legitimate company to back them up – either the supplier does not look after complaints or the supplier has already left the flooring market after short term profit.

How moisture resistant is the product?

Moisture is the natural enemy of any laminate floor. In most cases, the moisture resistance of a laminate floor is determined by the quality and moisture resistance of the HDF core. The harder the HDF core, the higher the quality of the laminate flooring.

Is the product reputable?

Get an understanding on how long the laminate product has been sold in Australia and has been featured in magazines and online. Great reviews are another barometer to determine if the laminate is right for you. A reputable and long standing laminate company is much more enticing than a new company who may be a flash in a pan.