What is the Best Low Maintenance Flooring?

Looking for a luxurious flooring solution that won’t require hours of routine maintenance? There are a lot of excellent easy maintenance floors on the market today. Designed to fit in with your busy lifestyle, low maintenance flooring is a popular choice for family homes and businesses.

So, what are the best low maintenance floors you can invest in? Below, we’ll reveal some of the best on offer.

Maintaining Luxury Vinyl Tiles

When it comes to low maintenance flooring, luxury vinyl can’t be beaten. Not only is it easy to maintain, but it’s also the easiest to keep clean too. It doesn’t require any special care unlike wooden flooring, and it’s available in a huge choice of designs.

Advancements in manufacturing techniques have improved the aesthetics of luxury vinyl flooring. Available in both wood and stone effects, it’s difficult to tell modern luxury vinyl floors apart from the real thing. They boast excellent water and stain resistance too, enabling you to install these floors in practically any room of the home.

All you really need to do to keep luxury vinyl floors looking like new, is vacuum them daily and give them a weekly mop. This will help to control dust, dirt and residue. The only thing to be wary of is if you’re using glue-down vinyl, you’ll want to avoid getting it too wet. So, when mopping glued down vinyl flooring, it’s important to use a damp, not wet mop. This is because the water could seep through the edges, weakening the glue over time.

The strength of these floors also keeps them protected against scuffs and scratches. They tend to feature a protective top layer which not only reduces maintenance but lengthens the lifespan of the floor too. You’ll find vinyl floors come with an excellent warranty, with some even boasting a lifetime guarantee.

Maintaining Laminate Flooring

Another low maintenance option is laminate. While it used to be quite tricky to maintain, advanced manufacturing techniques have made the planks much stronger and easier to keep clean. They tend to feature a photographic layer too, mimicking the look of solid wood perfectly.

Laminate floors today come with a wear layer to protect them against wear and tear. The maintenance is very similar to that of luxury vinyl. Just a daily sweep or vacuum will keep the floor dust and debris free. Just be careful about how much water you use when it comes time to mop the floor. Unless the laminate has waterproof properties, too much water could cause irreplaceable damage. Read more about how to maintain and clean laminate flooring here.

Maintaining Engineered Hardwood

If you really want the look of solid hardwood floors without the maintenance, engineered wood floors are a great choice. While the surface layer is made from solid wood, it is also heavily protected by either an oiled or a lacquered surface. The majority of the planks are typically made up of HDF layers, which aren’t as temperamental to changes in temperature or moisture. This, alongside their excellent scratch and scuff resistance, makes them a breeze to maintain.

Like laminate and vinyl, you’ll need to give the floor a daily vacuum or sweep over. Besides this, a dry mop once a week should be enough to keep the floor looking brand new. The only thing to be wary of here, is that any spills should be cleaned up quickly. Engineered wood floors aren’t usually as stain resistant as vinyl or laminate.

Which Floors Require More maintenance?

So, we’ve covered the floors that provide low maintenance benefits. Now let’s look at the floors that require the most amount of maintenance.

Solid wood floors are notoriously tricky to maintain. They can be easily scratched, and they warp and damage easily when exposed to changes in temperature and moisture. This means you not only need to be careful where they’re installed, but also with how you clean them. You’ll find it difficult to clean off any stains and spills can easily cause damage. If you have your heart set on solid wood flooring, it’s best to install them in low-traffic and non-family areas such as the bedroom.

Other types of flooring that are harder to maintain include ceramic and tiles. Interestingly, the colour of the floor you choose also makes a difference to how easy it is to maintain. Did you know for example, that white coloured flooring is notoriously difficult to keep clean? So, in higher traffic areas, it’s best to opt for darker coloured flooring that will hide daily wear and tear.

When choosing a new floor for your home, it’s important to consider how easy it’s going to be to maintain. If cleaning your floor seems too much of a chore, you can always get your floor professionally cleaned by London cleaners TidyChoice.

The above are some of the easiest and worst flooring types to maintain. Still unsure which floor suits your requirements? Please view our flooring guide here for further help.