Is Laminate Flooring Suitable for the Kitchen?

Is Laminate Flooring Suitable for the Kitchen?

The estimated reading time for this post is 4 minutes

People constantly ask whether a particular type of flooring is good for a particular room in the house. After all, different rooms experience different levels of foot traffic and have different materials around. The kitchen is no different.

In fact, a question that gets asked is if installing laminate flooring in the kitchen is a good option? There?s plenty of information out there on the Internet that might give conflicting views on this topic but we?re here to set it straight for you.

What is Laminate Flooring?

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First, let?s go over the basics. Laminate flooring is a multi-layer synthetic flooring product fused together with a lamination process. It simulates natural materials like wood and stone.

Laminate is typically made up of four layers:

  • Melamine Wear Layer: This layer is hard wearing and is specially designed to resist many forms of abrasion. It?s made up of several coats of melamine with aluminum oxide which provides durability and water resistance.
  • Photographic Applique: This layer gives the flooring the appearance of simulated natural products such as wood and stone. An image is printed on paper-like materials that are embedded in resin.
  • Core layer: This layer is the thickest, providing structure, and stability. Made of high-density fiberboard, the purpose of this layer is to support the weight and stress of foot traffic.
  • Backing: This layer helps to stabilise the floor, providing a moisture barrier that prevents warping.


Can Laminate Withstand Kitchen Spills and Foot Traffic?

One of the reasons that some people are uncertain about laminate is because of the illusion that laminate is flimsy or easily damaged due to its synthetic makeup. The layers that comprise laminate help to ensure that the floor is sturdy, long lasting, and resistant to scratches, dents, spills and stains.

woman cleaning floor in kitchen

Due to laminate flooring?s durability, it?s a great choice for high traffic areas such as the kitchen. Its ?wear? layer helps to protect the photographic applique and makes it very resistant to dents and scratches.

Laminate also holds up well against water spills because the sealed surface makes it difficult for water to reach the core and the fibers that make up laminate flooring promote stability.

Be aware?no floor is completely impermeable to liquid. If you have a flood in the house, your floors will be susceptible to damage. If a spill is left to sit for too long, there is a possibility that it will be absorbed and cause damage.

Armstrong Flooring recommends you wipe wet areas on your laminate floors from spills, muddy feet and damp paws immediately as a precaution. It seems like common sense advice but is simply a basic floor protection tip! Most floor spills will wipe away easy on most laminates.

But consider a quality laminate for your kitchen. A better laminate will guard against potential damage than a poor quality laminate. Just keep that in mind. We suggest choosing brand names such as Armstrong, Kronotex, Uniclic, and Mannington.

Is Laminate Easy to Maintain?

There are so many aspects to maintaining a kitchen?washing dishes, upkeep of appliances, cleaning cupboards and countertops? the last thing you need is fussy or hard-to-maintain floor.

That?s why we often recommend laminate for the kitchen. All you need to maintain your laminate floor is an occasional sweep, vacuum or an easy-to-use approved laminate/hard surface mop and your floor is good to go.

Laminate Flooring is Economical

One of our favourite aspects of laminate floors and one that always puts a smile on our customer?s faces is the price-point of laminate flooring. For a product that?s so versatile, high-functioning and durable laminate is very affordable option.

What?s even better, is that certain styles resemble higher-priced hardwood flooring so well that sometimes experts can?t tell that it?s laminate at first glance! The better the quality, the longer it can last you and the less you?ll need to spend long-term on your floors.

Installation

These days, some laminate flooring products come with easy-to-install ? click-lock? design systems. Because of this quick-lock system, laminate flooring is one of the easiest floors to remove as well, in the event that you want newer floors down the road.

NOTE: Just make sure that if you are going to install floors on your own that you follow the manufacturer?s guidelines to get the best results.

To avoid the potential headache of installing floors. it would be wise to hire a professional to install the floors for you. (Let Diverse Flooring help you with this and receive a 2 year warranty on your installation).

Laminate is a Great Choice For Your Kitchen

While it?s true that hardwood flooring is luxurious and may increase the value of your home?it?s not necessarily the best choice for every room.

Laminate flooring is a great option for the kitchen because:

  • it?s able to sustain high foot traffic,
  • is highly moisture resistant,
  • is easy to install and remove,
  • it looks great, and
  • is an economical choice.
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Finding the Right Laminate Flooring Brand

It?s true that there is a lot of cheaply-made laminate out there. We?ve blogged about this and we recommend you read our blog posts to learn more about floors from China having formaldehyde in them and how a massive corporate flooring company?s cheaply made laminate floors can pose a cancer risk to you and your family.

At Diverse Flooring, we are meticulous about the quality of the products we carry and you can be assured that we partner with the best flooring vendors in Europe and North America.

Come visit our Maple Ridge, BC showroom to take a look at the many reputable and high-quality laminate flooring brands we carry. We can help you decide the best type of laminate for you and your kitchen!

Have a question? Please ask below or visit us in-store!