Living in New Jersey, we all know about high traffic areas. What happens to our roads as they get travelled over day by day, year by year, by multitudes of vehicles? They become damaged and worn down. We’ve all been on the Garden State Parkway after a particularly long winter filled with snow, ice, and salt, cursing as we navigate the potholes and bumps.
But what does this have to do with flooring?
If you have a large family, or even a lot of friends, the comparison might not be that far off base.
Worn Down
A home that sees a lot of foot-traffic suffers the same fate as a road that sees a lot of tire traffic. Wear and tear and a whole lot of usage can cause damage to your floors that is not unlike the damage to a well-travelled roadway. No, you won’t end up with potholes, but you will end up with a floor that looks shabby long before it’s time.
Carpet can be easily worn down over many years of traffic and keeping it perfectly clean in a high traffic area of your home is virtually impossible. Plan on vacuuming several times a week and shampooing at least once a week without fail. Carpet is lovely for low traffic areas, though, such as the bedroom.
In For The Long Haul
The most durable and dependable option for your foyer, dining room, kitchen, and hallway areas is laminate. Laminate sometimes gets a bad rap when people think back to the Brady-Bunch era of avocado, orange, and brown in funky patterns that could make one dizzy. However, all of that has changed and laminate today is not only prefect for all high-traffic areas, it looks remarkably beautiful due to the variety of patterns.
Laminate is virtually indestructible; pets can’t scratch it and kids can’t destroy it. The best thing about it, though, is the variety of patterns and designs to choose from. You can get laminate that looks just like hardwood, stone, or even concrete. You’ll get exactly the look you have always dreamed of without having to worry about the damage that can occur with the real thing.
Sweep it, mop it, and be done with it. No need to drag out the big shampooer, no need to wax it, no need to worry about it. Isn’t that really what we want out of our flooring? Beauty and durability with minimal upkeep? Now you can focus on the important things, like how to navigate those potholes until road construction season starts.